By Spy Uganda
According to the letter addressed to all district Chairpersons by the minister of Local Government, Raphael Magyezi, the government has put on halt the operationalization of Fort Portal tourism city among other districts’ new administrative structures across the country citing lack of enough funds.
READ ALSO: Government Creates 9 New Cities, Fort Portal Now Tourism City
The official announcement comes after at least 364 sub-counties and 352 town councils created by the government across the country have been non-functional for close to a year due to lack of funding.
Minister Magyezi says since the end of the recent general elections, he has continued to receive requests from some of the district councils for new Local Governments and Administrative Units but he says this will not be possible due to financial constraints the government is currently dipped in.
READ ALSO: Lands Ministry PS Dustbins Kabarole District New Land Board
He writes to district Chairpersons, Mayors and Councillors;
“WHEREAS it is necessary in some cases to have new Local Governments and Administrative Units because of the need to bring services closer to the people in their localities and to improve the efficiency of local administration;
READ ALSO: Tooro Top Clergy, Politicians Divided Over Fort Portal Tourism City Boundaries
Cognizant of the need to address the wishes of the people for effective political representation and to take into account factors such as geographical challenges, problems of communication, marginalization of ethnic minorities and big population.
Nonetheless, Local Governments and Administrative Units have serious-budgetary implications in terms of finances to maintain these structures and to provide the requisite human resource to manage them.’’
READ ALSO: Parliament Finally Approves 46 New Counties Rising Numbers Of MPs In 11th House To 527
It’s worth noting that previously in 2019, President Museveni warned the then minister for Local Government, Mr Tom Butime, against the creation of too many municipalities and town councils saying that it would put the government into financial crisis.
But in Magyezi’s administration, the same government elevated to cities the municipalities of Arua in the West Nile region near DR Congo and South Sudan borders, Gulu in the Central North, Mbale and Jinja in the East, Mbarara in the Midwest, Fort Portal in the West and Masaka in the central region.
