Kampala Capital City Authority councillors on Wednesday voted to reject a training at National Leadership Institute, Kyankwanzi organised by Kampala Minister Beti Kamya.
The training scheduled to take place from November 12-19, 2017 pits opposition leaning KCCA councillors against councillors who subscribe to the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), party.
In a council meeting chaired by the Lord Mayor, Erias Lukwago, the opposition leaning councillors who call themselves “the ruling party” at city hall voted to reject Kamya’s training. They also voted against KCCA spending money on the training as allowance for councillors.
In a letter dated October 31 addressed to Kampala Capital City Executive Director, Jennifer Musisi, Kamya had requested for pocket allowance for both city authority and urban division councillors who will be attending the training.
“As discussed with you verbally, this is to confirm that KCCA and Urban Division Councillors whose names appear on the attached list have been admitted to a leadership training program in the National Leadership Institute, Kyankwanzi, from 12-19 November 2017. The course is fully sponsored by the institute but as is the usual practice in KCCA, they will require an out of pocket allowance,” Kamya’s letter reads.
When Lukwago put the training issue on vote, 21 councillors rejected it. Councillors who subscribe to National Resistance Movement however decided to abstain when Lukwago denied councillors representing people with disabilities an opportunity to vote.
Lukwago said people with disabilities’ representatives are ex-officials barred from voting by KCCA Act. Seven NRM councillors abstained but Lukwago counted six because the seventh was a representative of people with disabilities.
Reports indicate that 280 Authority and Urban Division Councillors have registered to attend the training but no one has seen the list. Over 125 million Shillings will be spent on the training as allowance.
Councillors requested the list to be made public arguing that their names could have been added to it without their approval. The Acting Deputy Executive Director, Sam Sserunkuma had promised to avail the list during council proceedings but he never brought it.
When councillors made a pronouncement to reject the training and that KCCA money should not be spent on it as allowances, Sam Sserunkuma said they will write back to the minister informing her about council resolutions.
Deputy Lord mayor Sarah Kanyike also pronounced her self on the matter arguing that; “We as the political leaders of KCCA we are not part of the training because we do not own it since the office of the lord mayor was not invited.”
“We don’t allow the Executive Director KCCA to spend any single coin on this training,” she added.
