The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Entebbe, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Entebbe municipality residents and leaders have implicated businessman, Gerald Mutebi as part of the people struggling to takeover and develop Kigungu landing site.
The landing site, which measures approximately two acres, stretches from Kigungu Catholic shrine to Entebbe Girls Secondary school and is home to more than 1000 fishermen.
It is also the main route for people traveling to the neighboring Buwuvu, Kitobo, Mayanzi and Lyamunyu islands in Wakiso and Kalangala Districts.
However, Mutebi, a prominent fish and real estate dealer wants to evict fishermen to pave way for the construction of a fish handling facility and an ice plant.
He told URN in a phone interview on Tuesday afternoon that he had already secured clearance from Entebbe municipal council to construct an ice plant in the area.
Mutebi also says that he obtained a lease for the said land in 2003. According to Mutebi, the plant will only offer jobs to Entebbe resident but will also provide ice blocks to fishermen to preserve their fish catch.
However, residents led by Entebbe Deputy Mayor, Richard Ssekyondo says the land board in Wakiso and Entebbe municipalities need to establish whether Mutebi was offered any piece of land at Kigungu landing site free of encumbrance as the law suggests.
In June this year, Mutebi through his employee, Emmanuel Kisa indicated that there is need to redevelop the landing site to improve safety and environment of Kigungu landing site.
Currently, the area has a single pit latrine despite the huge population.
The 2010 Land Amendment Act suggests that a District Land board shall only offer a lease or free hold title to a person on a piece of land free of encumbrance.
Recently, residents demolished some of the structures that had had been instituted at the landing site by Mutebi on grounds that he had no clearance from municipal authorities to construct a fish and ice plant in the area.
Grace Nanyonga, the Entebbe Municipality physical planner, says she hasn’t seen Mutebi’s application seeking to redevelop Kigungu landing Site. She also says the municipal authorities need to ascertain whether the land Mutebi claims rightfully belongs to him.
“If you want to construct an ice plant within the Municipality, you have to go through our office to establish whether such a development conforms to the development master plan,” she said.
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