MBALE – Mbale youth have on Friday morning engaged in a street protest against the denial of city status to the district once named with the cleanest town.
Carrying placards some displaying ‘Mbale city now or never’, the youth were chanting; ‘we want a city’. However, Police used tear gas to disperse them.
Singing; “We want a city like we want money”, the group was intercepted by officers led by District Police Commander, Mathias Turyasingura, arresting several of them.
Early this week, cabinet approved the creation of nine cities, five of which will become operational on July 1, 2020.
These cities include Arua, Gulu, Jinja, Fort Portal, and Mbarara. These will be elevated from municipal to city status by July 1, 2020.
According to the cabinet, Hoima and Mbale will become cities in July 2021.
Fort Portal, Mbarara and Hoima will be regional cities in western Uganda; Entebbe city in the central region; Lira, Arua and Gulu in northern region while Mbale and Jinja cities will serve the eastern region.
Also, a budget of UGX130b will be set aside for the operationalisation of these cities.
