IS THIS TRUE-NRM SUPPORTERS STOPS MBALE TOWN DEVELOPMENT? Mbale- The problems of Mbale Municipal Council are far from ending as the Municipal Mayor, Mr Mutwalib Zandya Mafabi, accuses the National Resistance Movement cadres of undermining his efforts to develop the town. “This town is lagging behind because of a section of NRM sympathisers [cadres] who are set with intentions to fight down my administration as a mayor. Politicking is at the centre of this whole mess in Mbale. People should separate politics from development,” said Mr Zandya, calling on the Lands Minister, Mr Daudi Migereko, to intervene. Mr Migereko was in Mbale to launch the Shs380 billion Uganda Support to Municipal Infrastructure Development [USMID] programme, funded by World Bank. The launch of USMID programme attracted 14 municipalities across the country. Participants drawn were the municipal auditors, engineers, community development officers, procurement officers, finance officers, town clerks, mayors and physical planners. Mr Zandya said the NRM supporters have made up several allegations to make the general public think he and his team have betrayed the electorate. “These so-called NRM cadres masterminded my arrest two months ago for no reason other than to blackmail me in the face of the public. I don’t understand why some NRM sympathisers have continued to antagonise my administration to fail implementation of key programmes in the municipality,” Mr Zandya said. He said NRM cadres in the municipality have written several letters to the office of the IGG and police to investigate unfounded allegations against him. The allegations Mr Zandya and nine others’ troubles stem from allegations that they defrauded the council of Shs1.8 billion after selling off municipal land without authority from the council. The said officers are suspected to have committed the offence since taking over office. However, Mr Migereko responded to his plea by acknowledging that there is a big problem with Mbale municipality leadership –including from illegal allocation of land to developers without following the right procedures. [email protected] The Monitor.
Posted on: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 13:00:16 +0000