Ministry of Lands on the spot over seeking Shs 7b without knowledge of Land Commission
The Ministry of Lands, Housing, and Urban Development has been put on the spot for seeking Shs7.67billion in their supplementary budget without the knowledge of the Uganda Lands Commission.
The speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga yesterday suspended the debate on a supplementary budget request from the ministry after it was revealed they were acting without the knowledge of the commission.
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According to Ministry officials, the money was needed to compensate landowners in Lusanja and one Dodoviko Mwanje, the businessman accused of demolishing St Peter’s Church Ndeeba.
These claim that half of the money was meant to acquire land compulsorily for the church in Ndeeba while the other half was to resettle affected persons in Lusanja.
In a letter from the Byenkya Beatrice Nyakaisiki, the chairman of Uganda Land Commission, she expressed dismay at the request by the Ministry.
“I am dismayed and displeased that whilst watching parliament on UBC this afternoon, I heard a list of people to be paid out as submitted by the Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development,” Byenkya wrote.
“The Commission is not privy to this list and wants the minister to be brought to order for having usurped its powers knowingly,” she added.
Byenkya noted that the undersecretary, who is two weeks old in office, accompanied the minister as a courtesy from the user agency of that money to hoodwink Parliament that the Commission are privy to this list.
