14

Sunday VISION, May 1, 2016

NEWS

www.newvision.co.ug

SPECIAL REPORT

KEEP UP TO DATE WITH THE FACTS,

THE ARGUMENTS AND THE
BEST COMMENT IN THE COUNTRY

LAND BATTLE: Sh47.7b advanced to contractors for property compensations was unaccounted for as of June 30 last year

Where is the money for road

Sources privy to road

projects say UNRA
has accumulated
billions of shillings in
compensation debts
due to thousands of
beneficiaries, some
of whom have since
passed on, Chris
Kiwawulo writes

eborah Kyeyunes family

is supposed to get paid
for their land that the
Uganda National Roads
Authority (UNRA) took
over in 2010 to construct the sh165b
Mukono-Katosi road.
Kyeyunes family land and
properties thereon located on Plot
84 Block 424 Kyaggwe in Ntenjeru,
Mukono district, were registered for
compensation on May 20, 2010.
But six years down the road, the
65-year-old widow is still waiting.
With four orphaned grandchildren,
as well as two of her sisters children
to look after, Kyeyune is sad and blue
after the compensation she expected
failed to come through.
She noted that surveyors and
valuers visited their land on the
74km road and assessed the value of
crops and other properties thereon,
but UNRA has never told them how
much money they should expect.
She said since 2010, seven of her 10
siblings, together with their mother,
Francisca Nassozi, have passed on.
I have been to UNRA offices in
Kyambogo, Kampala several times,
but they keep on tossing me. Do they
want me to die as well and take the
money? she wondered.
Kyeyune stated that an official
from UNRA, identified as Samuel
Kayongo, took her land title in 2014
to cut off the portion of the land
affected by the road, but it has never
been returned. Ironically, Kayongo
has since been relieved of his duties.
I have asked UNRA officials to
return our title so that I can go to the

The Mukono-Katosi road. Investigations established that sh361.7m was approved by the Chief Government Valuer for
compensation of land and property for the Mukono-Katosi road beneficiaries
bank and get some money to look
after the orphans. One of the children
is at university, but I have no fees.
I expected to get some money and
pay, but it is not coming through,
lamented Kyeyune, herself a mother
of five.
Although some beneficiaries of the
Mukono-Katosi road have already
been compensated, Kyeyune and
her family are among hundreds
of other beneficiaries who are still
waiting for their pay. And this is not
the only UNRA road project where
compensation has delayed.

I have been to
UNRA offices in
Kyambogo, Kampala
several times, but
they keep on tossing
me. Do they want me
to die as well?

and 2014/15). During the financial

year 2014/15, UNRA acquired land
through compensations worth
sh40.9b, but these were excluded
from the amounts disclosed to the
Auditor General.

How much is due?

Although UNRA could not tell the
actual number of beneficiaries,
amount due to them and its
whereabouts, sources privy to
road projects said the agency has
accumulated billions of shillings

in compensation debts due to

thousands of beneficiaries, some of
whom have since passed on.
According to the Auditor General,
John Muwanga, UNRA had domestic
arrears of sh239.4b for the last three
financial years (2012/13, 2013/14

Suspicious compensation
Investigations show that some of
the money meant for compensation
was paid to wrong persons,
while other cash could not be
accounted for. A total of sh47.7b
advanced to various contractors for
property compensations remained
unaccounted for as of June 30 last
year.
UNRA financial statements
indicated that the advances were
based on valuation reports approved
by the Chief Government Valuer.
However, sh6.5b advanced to an
international engineering firm for

WHAT IS THE UGANDA NATIONAL ROADS AUTHORITY DOING TO REMEDY THE SITUATION?
On March 22, UNRA launched a six-month exercise to
verify the authenticity of titles and owners of land
affected by 20 major road projects implemented in
various parts of the country.
Thereafter, UNRA and the lands ministry will
process for landlords residual titles for part of
their land, which was not affected by the road
construction projects. Verification takes place at
UNRAs offices in Kyambogo, a city suburb.
Launching the exercise, UNRAs head of corporate
change management, Belinda Komuntale, said it will
also involve verifying the rightful land owners who
were compensated and validity of their titles.
Over 2,000 residual land titles will be processed
for land lords affected by projects at UNRAs cost,

starting with the Kampala Northern Bypass with

500 beneficiaries. Mukono-Katosi, Masaka-Mbarara,
Gayaza-Ziroobwe, Busega-Mityana, Mbarara
Bypass, Kampala-Entebbe Expressway, Fort PortalBundibugyo-Lamia and Fort Portal-Kamwenge roads,
among others, will also be worked on.
We apologise to the people affected by our
projects for having delayed to return their land
titles. We are asking people to come to our office
(Kyambogo) so that we verify their particulars and
process residual land titles for them, Komuntale
said.
She blamed the delays on consultancy firms which
were awarded contracts of processing the titles for
UNRA and land owners under the agencys previous

administration for failing to do their work.

When contacted, Mark Ssali, the UNRA head
of public and corporate affairs, corroborated
Komuntales statement that UNRA has already put in
place a land acquisition department, which handles
compensation matters.
But Ssali failed to explain the cause of delayed
compensation, the exact number of persons affected
by UNRA projects and the amount of money the
authority owes the beneficiaries.
The UNRA publicist could also not tell whether
UNRA had the money to compensate persons whose
land was taken over for road projects and whether
some officials were asking beneficiaries for a
commission to expedite the payment procedure.

Olwiyo-Gulu project was not based

on the valuation report approved by
the Chief Government valuer, which
was irregular.
According to UNRA management,
some land owners, especially in rural
areas, did not have titles, while in
other cases, names of beneficiaries
of the approved land and property
valuation were found missing.
Other beneficiaries names were
suspiciously changed.
On the Mukono-Katosi road, several
unknown title holders were found to
have been suspiciously compensated.
The Auditor General, in his report for
2014/15, indicated that sh60.3m was
paid to unknown title holders on Plot
57 Block 380 in Ngogwe town.
Both the summary of the land
and property valuation assessment
report, the detailed land and property
valuation for compensation report
indicated that the names of the title
holders as unknown, said the report.
The Auditor General observed that
UNRA management did not avail him
with the original title and transfer
forms, despite several requests.
Besides, over sh7b, which would
have been used to compensate
persons affected by the project,
was spent questionably. One such
expenditure was of sh6.6b paid
to a local firm resulting from an
arbitration dispute regarding a
contract for the backlog roads
maintenance programme for seven
roads in Kampala.
But the issues for arbitration
included wrong information provided
and poor management of the contract
by UNRA. Muwanga noted that the
expenditure could have been avoided
had UNRA acted to resolve the issues
with the contractor early enough.
LAND Titles held
As UNRA is still grappling with
debts, many beneficiaries have not
got back their titles. This comes as
the Government continues to budget
for new roads to be worked on every
other financial year.
The 20112016 National Resistance
Movement (NRM) election manifesto
promised to turn six highways
into dual carriageways. These are;
the 51.4km Entebbe Expressway,
expansion of 17km of the 21km
Kampala Northern Bypass, 80km
Kampala-Jinja Expressway, 30km
Kibuye-Mpigi highway, 35km
Kampala-Bombo highway and the
18km Kampala Southern Bypass.
Of these dual carriageway road
projects, physical work is only
ongoing on the Kampala-Entebbe
Expressway and Kampala Northern
Bypass. The rest of the roads projects
are still at design stage. But even on
those projects where work is ongoing,
the affected persons have not all been
compensated and their titles are still
held by UNRA.
Reasons for delays
Hundreds of beneficiaries on roads
like; Mbarara Bypass, KampalaMityana, Entebbe Expressway and
Vurra-Arua-Koboko-Oraba are crying
foul over delayed compensation.

15

NEWS

Sunday VISION, May 1, 2016

www.newvision.co.ug

SPECIAL REPORT

KEEP UP TO DATE WITH THE FACTS,

THE ARGUMENTS AND THE
BEST COMMENT IN THE COUNTRY

PROJECT COMPENSATIONS?
Investigations point to delayed
compilation of data by
UNRA, land disputes among
beneficiaries, contestation
of valuation figures by
beneficiaries and corruption
as the causes of delayed
payment.
Sunday Vision has
established that the
restructuring at UNRA, where
all staff were sacked, also
contributed to the delayed
compensation since some of
the processes had to be started
afresh. As a result, UNRA
asked most beneficiaries to resubmit their documents.
Besides, some beneficiaries
talked to reported being asked
for a commission if their pay
was to be expedited. Some
officials were asking us to
forfeit up to 10% of our pay
so as to help us expedite
the process. Some of our
colleagues who complied
got their money, said a
beneficiary in Ngogwe town,
on the Mukono-Katosi road.
In communities where
more than one person claims
ownership of land affected
by the project, UNRA has to
wait for resolution of disputes
in courts of law, thus also
delaying compensation. This
was the case on the Entebbe
Expressway, where Madhvani
Group of Companies was in
dispute with former Nakawa
mayor Benjamin Kalumba
over land in Kajjansi, Wakiso
district.

that were from different

LC1 had the same format
and grammatical English,
indicating that they were
drafted by the same person,
which creates suspicion
of compensating incorrect
persons, Muwanga observed.

Northern Bypass. Work is ongoing on the Kampala-Entebbe Expressway and Kampala Northern Bypass
Kanungu road, saying; One of
the affected landlords on the
Kanungu side of the bridge
had taken the contractor to
court for carrying on works
in his land before being
compensated. This implied
that works could not go on in
the contested area. This was
likely to cause project delays.
KAMPALA-MITYANA
ROAD
The High Court in Kampala in
January this year ordered for
a fresh valuation of properties
that belonged to people
affected by the construction of
the 56.7km Kampala-Mityana
road.
Work on the road started in
2009 and ended around 2013,
but over 1,000 people are yet
to be compensated.
Spencon and Stirling
jointly worked on 30.18km
of the road from Busega
to Muduuma, while Dott
Services worked on the
26.6km Muduuma-Mityana
stretch.

ROAD REPORTS
ON DELAYS
According to the Roads
Sector Annual Monitoring
Reports for the past four years,
compensation of projectaffected persons keeps coming
up as an unmet target. The
2014/15 report noted that
the new requirement for Tax
Identification Numbers (TIN)
affected the pace of land and
property compensation.
The reports indicate that
on all projects, delayed
compensation has affected
projects completion periods
and it has sometimes resulted
into an increase in project
costs, where contractors claim
an increase in the cost of
materials and charge for time
lost.
The 2013/14 road sector
report cited the 30km
Nsangi-Kamengo stretch on
the Kampala-Masaka road
that had all pavement and
earthworks completed, except
at Maya, where compensation
issues had prevented the
contractor from carrying
out any work on a 650m
section of the road.
It also cited the
Birara bridge on the
Rukungiri-BiraraUNRA executive director Allen Kagina

Mande Buwembo, the

Malangala sub-county
chairperson in Mityana
district, said some of the
beneficiaries had already
died, while others can no
longer prove ownership since
their property was destroyed.
Mary Kuteesa, the UNRA
legal director, said they would
compensate the beneficiaries.
After 400 of the residents
complained, court appointed
a valuer, MPG Associates
Valuers and Surveyors, to
execute the assessment of
beneficiaries. With offices
in Malangala sub-county,
the valuers said they
have received over 1,200
complaints.
MUKONO-KATOSI ROAD
Investigations established that
sh361.7m was approved by
the Chief Government Valuer
for compensation of land and
property for Mukono-Katosi
road beneficiaries. However,
some names of beneficiaries
appearing in the summary
final report could not be
traced in the detailed report.
The Auditor General in his
report on Central Government
and Statutory Authorities
for the year ending June
30, 2015, said he could not
verify whether the presented
beneficiaries were genuine as
he was not availed the original
valuation reports. Since
payments to the projectaffected persons were based
on the summary; it was hard
to verify the payments
with the details of the
land, property, crops and
trees that were surveyed
and valued, Muwanga
noted.
His audit discovered
that beneficiaries
names were changed

at payment level on the

recommendation of LC1
officials.
I noted that the
recommendation letters

VURRA-ARUA-KOBOKOORABA ROAD
In Arua, over 50 people
affected by the Vurra-AruaKoboko-Oraba road have not
been compensated yet they
lost property, including houses
and farmland, during the road
construction launched in 2011.
The road affected the people
of Vurra, Dadamu, Oli and
Aroi sub-counties.
While visiting the
beneficiaries on March 11,
Juliet Oyela, an official from
UNRA, promised that the
residents would be paid,
arguing that their names were
compiled late.
MBARARA BYPASS
Several beneficiaries of the
Mbarara Bypass project
have to date not yet been

compensated, notable
among them is the National
Agricultural Research
Organisation (NARO).
According to the Auditor
General, UNRA owes NARO
sh1.836b in compensation
for land affected by the road
works on the Mbarara Bypass.
Negotiations for compensation
were reported to be still going
on.
MASAKA-BUKAKATA
Compensation of persons
affected by the 36km
Masaka-Bukakata road
project has also dragged on.
Former works minister Eng.
Abraham Byandala had earlier
announced that works would
commence in 2012, but it
delayed allegedly due to lack
of funds.
In a recent notice, however,
UNRA urged the affected
persons to report with all
necessary documentation for
verification starting on April 4.
The lists of beneficiaries
were pinned at the respective
10 village councils for
verification.

ADWARI SECONDARY SCHOOL

P.O. BOX 260 LIRA

BID NOTICE UNDER OPEN DOMESTIC BIDDING

Adwari Secondary School is a Government grant aided Secondary School and have allocated
fund from PTA for the acquisition of a 67 seater bus and therefore invites application from
competent firms or individuals to carry out the above (supply of a 67 Seater Bus).
The intended applicants should submit the following in their bid documents
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Valid trading license

Valid certificate of incorporation
Valid income tax clearance
Valid registration certificate (TIN)
Memorandum and Article of Association
PDDA certificate of registration
Bank statement for last 6 Months
Audited report for the last 3 years
Manufacture authorization to supply in Uganda
Applicants are required to pay a non refundable fee of Ugx 200,000 to
Adwari Secondary School Account No. 1010501102 Centenary Bank Lira Branch
11. Present copy of bank slips to the bursar for general receipts and obtain the bid
document
12. Bids must be written in English and returned in a sealed envelope clearly
marked tender for addressed and
submitted to the Head of PDU Adwari Secondary Secondary P. O BOX 260 Lira on
or before 30th May, 2016 at 5:00pm
PLANNED PROCUREMENT SCHEDULES SUBJECT TO CHANGE IS AS FOLLOWS
S/No.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

ACTIVITY
PUBLISHING OF BID NOTICE
BID OPENING
BID CLOSING
BID EVALUATION
COMMUNICATION TO BIDDERS
AWARD AND SIGNING OF CONTRACT

DATE
01st May, 2016 30th May, 2016
30th May, 2016
30th May, 2016
31st May, 2016 03rd June, 2016
04th June, 2016 17th June, 2016
20th June, 2016 01st July, 2016

HEAD OF PROCUREMENT AND DISPOSAL UNIT

ADWARI SECONDARY SCHOOL