By Julius Kitone and Teddy Kabasambu
Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago was on Monday, December 9, 2019 forced to adjourn council meetings to January 9, 2020 after clerks failed to turn up for the meeting.
The Lord Mayor, who is at the same time the speaker to the KCCA Council, said the absence of the clerks who are mandated by law to take note of the KCCA Council meeting minutes was a sign of impunity, laxity, and sabotage that made it inevitable for him to adjourn the council meeting.
According to Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, the absence of the clerks and any person from the technical wing of KCCA was a sign of long standing impunity, anxiety and sabotage embedded in the KCCA system.
The acting Kampala Capital City Authority Executive Director Engineer Andrew Kitaka and his deputy who were supposed to give technical advice to the council proceedings were also absent.
The absence of the clerks attracted heated debate from angry city councilors. The debate prompted Lukwago to constitute a five man team led by Kawempe South Lord Councilor Wamala Micheal Ziggwa, Kyebando Councilor Ssegirinya Muhammad among others during an interim adjournment of 15 minutes to establish their whereabouts but all in vain.
Wamala said that upon reaching the clerks’ offices, they were welcomed by the locked doors. Phone calls to the missing clerks went unanswered.
Kyambogo University Lord Councillor Olive Namazzi and the Wanzusi Robert, a Lord Councillor Matukhu, called for a disciplinary action against the clerks who are public servants yet they act contrary.
The clerks’ absence was partly attributed to the new amendments in the KCCA Act 2010 that stipulates a shift in the powers of the Authority leaving Lord Mayor with no legal back up to preside over a council meeting.
The Council equally agreed to have an interim meeting On Friday 13th December 2019 to deliberate on among other issues property rates that were hiked to 6% which the Lord Mayor and Councilors said was unbearable and unfair to property owners, city market controversies in Wandegeya and Kireka among others.
Without the New amendments to the KCCA Act 2010 published in the National Gazatte, the Lord Mayor is unable to conduct any electoral process to have KCCA Speaker and his or deputy seats occupied. This prompted the Lord Mayor to adjourn the council meeting to 9th January 2020.
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