New councils pulling strings over allowances in 2011

Salary Rift in Fort Portal Threatens Service Delivery

Felix Basiime & Geoffrey Mutegeki

29 August 2011 [http://allafrica.com/stories/201108291803.html]

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It all started with pay cheque amendments but the tides are looking ever volatile now, threatening to hit the core of Fort Portal Municipality and wash away the dreams its leaders hold for it.

On Thursday, mayor Edison Asaba Ruyonga and his deputy Margaret Kihika stormed out of a council session at Musisa Hall in protest after the council maintained their earlier position to reduce the mayor's emoluments from Shs2.8 million as proposed by the executive to Shs2 million per month.

The rift between the mayors and the council is widening and some councillors are considering disciplinary actions. "The mayor and his deputy are undermining us. This is the second time they are running out of this council. It is bad if they want cooperation we should be one and deliberate together," a councillor, who preferred anonymity, said.

The court petition

Mr Ruyonga and Ms Kihika in July dragged the council to court accusing it of reducing their emoluments. This was after the councillors in a June 27 session reasoned that the allowances received by the two officials are higher compared to other municipalities in the country, yet service delivery was still poor.

In the previous council (2006-2010), the mayor received Shs4.9 million as allowances per month, but the new council cut it down to Shs2.8 million. However, Mr Ruyonga and Ms Kihika said the manner in which the resolution was arrived at was illegal and petitioned court.

On July 12, the High Court in Fort Portal issued an interim injunction staying the decision by the council until the main application by the two officials is heard and determined on January 18, 2012.

This, however, created tension and conflicts between the councillors and the mayors. Attempts by Kabarole District NRM caucus chaired by Local Government Minister Adolf Mwesige to have the parties settle their differences, hit a snag early this month.

The NRM caucus asked Mr Ruyonga and Ms Kihika to withdraw the case and settle the matter outside court but the mayor demanded that the council foots the legal costs.

Mr Mwesige is said to have advised the councillors that according to the Local Government Act, it is not the council that determines allowances for its councilors, but the ministry and that the councillors have no powers to reduce or increase allowances.

Legislator calls for unity

Meanwhile, Kabarole Woman MP Victoria Businge Rusoke has challenged the council to end their conflicts and focus on service delivery and development of the town. 

"These conflicts are diverting us from our work and focus of service delivery. You are not doing what you are supposed to do to the people. We need to cooperate, respect each other and serve the people accordingly," Ms Rusoke told the council session that she attended as an ex-officio after the mayors stormed out.

Councillor Gilbert Kayondo said: "The town has no power, sign posts are not in place but we are here arguing over emoluments. We came to work for our people so let's fulfil it."

King Oyo Moves to End Conflicts in His Kingdom

Felix Basiime

2 October 2011 [http://allafrica.com/stories/201110030672.html]

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King Oyo Nyimba of Tooro, who was in 2010 sued by some of his subjects for alleged "unconstitutional decisions", has made a big stride to end conflicts in his kingdom.

Last week he entered a consent judgment with the party that sued him and accepted all their conditions to withdraw all court cases.

The conflicts started after the king fired his Prime Minister, Mr William Nyakatura in October 2010, which was followed by some kingdom officials resigning, trading accusations and counter accusations that attracted some demonstrations in town by a section of the subjects.

In the main application, the Plaintiffs: Mr John Baranga, Mr John Kusemererwa, Mr Mordecai Kakorwa and Mr Lawrence Kawamara through their lawyer Mr Johnson Musana, sued King Oyo, head of the ruling Babiito clan, Mr Charles Kamurasi, Mr Francis Mugenyi, the King's Principal Private Secretary, and Mr Augustine Kayonga for allegedly abusing the kingdom's assets and powers granted to them.

King Oyo later in December 2010 replaced Mr Nyakatura with Dr Apollo Karugaba, and also appointed his mother, Best Kemigisa, as one of the five regents. These appointments also attracted stiff challenges from some subjects and clan leaders, who opened a new case in the High Court in Fort Portal arguing that the appointments were illegal.

According to King Oyo, the appointments were meant to end the leadership vacuum that had lasted about six months.

"All the pressure came when King Oyo changed administration. Some of the people were not satisfied and they are the people behind this. They also love the Kingdom, but have to appreciate what the King has done. It is good for people to go to court when they are not satisfied," Mr Arthur Namara, the Kingdom Information Minister, said then.

Later, the clan members secured a court injunction halting all Kingdom activities until the new Rukurato is sworn in.

Earlier, on November 9, 2010, court had advised the feuding parties to settle the matter out of court, and this was done September 5, when the King met some of the Plaintiffs and settled matters.

Among others, King Oyo has agreed with the Plaintiffs that the 1999 Constitution of Tooro Kingdom and regulations made thereunder is the "Supreme Law of Tooro Kingdom", and all appointments and removals from the offices of the kingdom shall be done in conformity with the kingdom's constitution.

But sections of the people see the King's move to accept all conditions by the Plaintiffs as a trap where his decisions will always be quashed at will. "Overall, the King was completely misled and he handed over his power to these people. It showed that all decisions he has been making are wrong," a source from the Royal family intimated to Sunday Monitor.

The same source added: "The King agreed with the people who took him to court that he was wrong in his decision making. At first I thought the talks were aimed at give-and-take position to create harmony among the subjects, but according to the consent judgment, it put the King completely at fault.

"Secondly, they are ready to refuse any nominee of the King through the council if he does not fit in their agenda, which in return weakens the King's ability to make decisions".

Floods devastate Kasese homes

By THEMBO KAHUNGU MISAIRI & FELIX BASIIME 
Posted  Monday, November 14  2011 (Link: http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/1272672/-/bgu5t2z/-/)

In Summary

Several houses have been destroyed rendering some locals homeless, yet the situation is expected to persist. This could lead to a repeat of the 2007 floods in the east, according to officials.

Kasese: Barely a day after weather experts predicted that the country will again be blanketed in fresh floods as bad as those of 2007, Kasese District was on Saturday soaked in floods again after six months.

Weather experts, according to Sunday Monitor yesterday, have warned that flooding similar to that of 2007, which displaced hundreds of thousands in eastern Uganda, will re-emerge in several parts of the country.

Demolishing buildings
Several houses in the western district of Kasese were on Saturday drenched in floods and others destroyed after a downpour. In Kihungu Parish, Kyalhumba Sub-county, eight houses collapsed with unspecified number of domestic birds killed, according to Robert Kyana, the area councillor.

In Mahango Sub-county, Buhandiro Church of Uganda was unroofed. The church coordinator, Mr Alex Mukababirwa, said they need more than Shs3 million to put back the roof.

Also affected is Mr Donia Thembo the LCI Chairman of Kinyamathe village, Luhiri Parish in Mahango Sub-county, whose family spent the night in the cold after the main house and kitchen collapsed.

Other areas affected include, Kinyateke village in Lake Katwe Sub-county where at least four houses have been confirmed to have collapsed. Ten others were brought down at Kitabu Trading Centre in Kyallhumba Sub-county, costing traders property worth millions of shillings.

In Railway Ward, Kasese Town and Kilembe Quarters in the Central Division, over 300 houses were drenched in floods. Ms Alice Biira, who stays at Kilembe Quarters, said they had nowhere to stay for the night because the whole place was flooded limiting movements.

“We were helped by neighbours who gave us where to sleep because our house was flooded. We are very hungry now that we did not cook supper. I am tired of this problem, my uncle bought this house in a dry season, we did not know that such a situation would come” Ms Biira said.

In Kasese town, there was a traffic jam for more than two hours in Kiteso, few metres from the Kasese Cobalt Company Ltd. as the Kasese-Mbarara road was blocked by the floods for some time.

The LCI Vice Chairman for Railway village, Mr Julius Monday, attributed the problem of persistent floods in the area every rainy season to the poor drainage system in Kasese Town, calling upon the relevant authorities to address the situation.

 

Out of hand

The minister for disaster preparedness, Dr Stephen Mallinga has warned that the situation may get out of hand in some districts as heavy rainfall, which started in March, triggers water-logging and flooding.

The western region focal person and public awareness officer for NEMA, Mr Jeconious Musingwiire reasons that “Kasese will be hit by floods for some time because the green cover has faded on the hills around it which leads to surface run offs, poor tilling of land, river banks have been cultivated so the rivers burst when it rains or when there is an overflow from the snowcapped mountain.”

Dr Mallinga said the floods have also destroyed crops and road infrastructure in many areas in Central, Western, Northern and West Nile sub-region.

Mr Musa Ecweru, Dr Mallinga’s deputy, said if the rain continues, the floods will be similar to that of 2007 that affected approximately 60,000 households, or 400,000 people – 80 per cent of them children and women.

In Summary

Kasese district is located along the Equator in the western region of Uganda. It borders the districts of Kabarole and Bundibugyo in the north, Lake George and Kamwenge in the east, Rubirizi district and Lake Edward in the south and the Democratic Republic of Congo in the west.

The district has an approximate total area of 31,205 sq km that is covered by wetlands, water and savannah type of vegetation. It has a mountainous terrain in the north with flat plains in the south.

        

It receives an average rainfall ranging between 900-1600mm annually and two rain seasons that come between March to May and August to November. Temperatures normally range between 23.9ºc and 30.0ºc

In October 2004, 217 families (about 1500 people) in Karusandara were left homeless after floods hit the area

On May 6, 201, floods hit Kasese municipality and destroyed several properties and gardens.

Mount Rwenzori is covered by snow throughout the year and is an important source of numerous tributaries to Lake Victoria and the Nile River.

Rivers Nyamwamba, Rwimi, Mobuku, Ssebore, Lhubiriha, Mpanga, Nyamugasani among others and several streams flow from Mount Rwenzori and most of them burst due to sand excavation on their banks causing flooding.

People living on the slopes of the mountain basically practice poor farming methods thus causing soil erosion and numerous landslides.

Deforestation is another major problem facing the mountain ranges. Over 90 percent of the communities living on the mountain slopes depend on firewood for fuel, leading to extensive destruction of forests letting floods in the low lands and global warming as the glaciers have been greatly affected and are disappearing steadily.

                       

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