Uganda Masaka City Council headquarters project still on the ground 2 years later

The Uganda Masaka City Council headquarters’ construction has yet to begin, two years after the council allotted funding for the project. The City Council allotted Sh2 billion to commence construction on the new office block that was proposed by the city leadership, led by the mayor, Ms. Florence Namayanja, in 2020.

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The city hall project was included in the city budget for the fiscal year 2020–2021. Shs500 million of the budget was generated from local revenue. Also, Sh1.5 billion was obtained through the sale of the mayor’s garden land.

The reason for the Masaka City Council headquarters construction delay

Several issues have been cited as reasons behind this delay. This included a lack of funding and disagreement over the site of the city headquarters.

The project was proposed to be constructed on a four-acre land parcel at Kitabiro Hill, behind the Uganda Post Office building, which the Masaka District asserts is part of its property and is currently home to the district headquarters.

The conflict between land owners where the city authorities intend to build their headquarters is also a factor contributing to the project’s delay. This is according to a section of council members at Masaka City Council led by, Mr. Godfrey Bamanyisa, the clerk. 

Construction to start after the completion of designs and artistic renderings

In addition to confirming that conflict between the site owners, Bamanyisa revealed that Obuntu Consultants Company’s designs and artistic renderings for the five-storey city hall will soon be completed. Construction will start soon after according to the Masaka City clerk. 

Nevertheless, Tony Ssempijja said they had decided with the executive to table the establishment of the new city hall until after their next meeting. Ssempijja is the speaker for Masaka City Council.

The last time Masaka had a well-designed council hall was in the 1970s. However, the facility was destroyed during the war which resulted in the overthrow of former President Idi Amin.