Ecweru asks Parliament to reject report on Bulambuli land

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The State Minister for Disaster Preparedness Musa Ecweru has appealed to parliament not to adopt a report by the Presidential Affairs Committee on the disputed land in Bulambuli district earmarked to host landslide survivors in Elgon region.

According to Eweru, adopting the report will plunge the landslide survivors into more suffering. The minister’s statement follows a recommendation by the Presidential Affairs Committee chaired by Adjumani Woman MP, Jessica Ababiku to government to find alternative land to resettle the landslide survivors.

The recommendation stems from investigations by the Committee into ownership wrangles into the land acquired by the Office of the Prime Minister to resettle more than 150,000 households from high risk areas.

The Committee recommended for the cancellation of the Bulambuli land transaction, saying there were unresolved ownership questions. “The Committee finds it not prudent to spend Government funds on infrastructure that is sitting on land characterized by ownership challenges,” reads part of the committee report.

The land in question measures 2,876 acres in Bunambutye Sub-County in Bulambuli District. The Office of the Prime Minister-OPM forked out Shillings 8 billion to buy the contested land to resettle the landslide survivors.

However, the process hit a snag when some individuals showed up claiming to be the legitimate owners of the land. In his response to the report in parliament on Tuesday, Ecweru warned that the landslide victims are likely to suffer more should parliament adopt the report.

He urged the MPs to consider the plight of the people of the Elgon sub-region, saying that in two months’ time, the first rain season will be on and further delay the resettlement programme thereby exposing the survivors to danger.

Ecweru also warned that in case Parliament decides to cancel the entire land transaction, government is likely to lose huge sums of money. However, the committee findings show that government incurred a financial loss when it acquired three plots of land at the center of ownership wrangles.

“The land was procured in accordance with Public procurement and Disposal of Assets (PPDA) Act 2003 and extensive due diligence and administrative reviews were done involving PPDA, Solicitor General, Ministry of Lands, District and Community leaders,” said Ecweru.

Ecweru also defended officials from the OPM implicated for messing up the procurement, saying they acted diligently and professionally executed their work to the conclusion of the assignment, adding that there is value for money.

He said that the resettlement process is already underway targeting 900 households and the first 101 houses will be handed over to selected beneficiaries beginning mid-February 2019.

He said that all the complaints raised during the land procurement were amicably resolved, saying the current land claimants arose more than eight months after conclusion of the procurement process.

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