By Spy Uganda
Kampala: The Minister of Lands, Housing, and Urban Development Betty Kamya has been put on the spot by parliament for seeking Shs7.67billion in their supplementary budget without the knowledge of the Uganda Lands Commission.
The Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga who chaired plenary sitting on 09 February 2021 to consider the report of the Budget Committee on the supplementary budget suspended the approval after Hon. Gaffa Mbwatekemwa from Kasambya County informed the House that he had evidence that the Land Commission was not consulted before the supplementary request was made.
“I want the Minister to tell this House who initiates a supplementary. Within few minutes, I will bring a document from the Uganda Land Commission. They are protesting this supplementary because they are not aware of the people to be compensated” Mbwatekemwa said.
Mbwatekamwa also questioned the criteria used to identify the beneficiaries of compensations saying that many individuals have been left out.
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 further 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.
