MASAKA – The Kabaka of Buganda Ronald Mutebi II on Sunday 9 criticised and blamed the government for the delay to approve Masaka Municipality into city status.
Kabaka was speaking to the congregation at St Paul Cathedral, Kako in Masaka District when he revealed that Masaka town has all the qualities needed to be made a city.
He, therefore, said that the municipality should be among the first five approved new cities by then.
“We are really wondering why our town, Masaka, which has all the requirements to become a city, was not considered among the first new cities,” he said.
Masaka was among the 15 municipalities approved as regional cities but it was not included in the first list of towns to be made cities by 2020.
Kabaka added on saying he is soon going to consult experts who deal with urban planning to get the reason why Masaka was not among the towns to be made cities on the first list.
“When I get time, I will look for experts in urban planning to tell me why this was done like this, because me as a person, I have failed to understand it,” he said.
In May, 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.
