Hoima property owners ordered to renovate dilapidated buildings

Hoima, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Hoima city authorities have issued guidelines to property owners ordering them to renovate dilapidated buildings.

According to the guidelines, all property owners are expected to renovate all the dilapidated structures while those lacking the required building plans must acquire them within six months.

Though Hoima was elevated to city status, most of the buildings especially those in the central business area are in a poor state and on the verge of collapsing. Most of the structures have rusted iron sheets and cracked walls.

Sylvia Nalumaga, the Deputy Mayor of Hoima city says that they have written notices to most landlords and property owners. She says that they want to have a clean and organized city.

According to Nalumaga, the property owners should adhere to the guidelines or risk being dragged to court.

Peter Mayanja, a landlord in Kiryatete cell, Hoima East division, Hoima city welcomes the directives by the city authorities. He says that the developments will give a new look to their businesses.

John Kaliisa, another landlord says they are ready to cooperate and ensure that the new guidelines are adhered to.

The landlords have however tasked the city authorities to first prioritize garbage collection if they want to beautify the city.

Recently, Hoima city authorities earmarked 700 Million Shillings to revamp the defunct garbage recycling plant in Kibati cell, Hoima East city division.

Built in 2012 with funding from the World Bank and the National Environment Management Authority-NEMA, the 2.5 billion Shillings garbage recycling plant has been lying idle.

Apart from aiding effective garbage management, the plant was also supposed to support agriculture by providing compost manure for use by farmers. The facility which sits on three acres of land has a capacity of processing 70 tons of garbage daily.

The plant lacks electricity and running water to support its operations. Fire gutted part of the facility in 2018 thereby affecting its operations.

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