Rt. Hon. Speaker
Rt. Hon. Prime Minister
Rt. Hon. Leader of the Opposition
H.E. Permanent Representative to the UN in New York
Dear Sirs
This morning I sent you a message protesting the manner in which a resolution was passed by Rukungiri district council without consulting the people that have been affected.
A few minutes ago, I have just read in New Vision (Uganda) of Monday May 17, 2010 that new municipalities had been approved by Parliament. I noticed one anomaly.
While the proposed municipalities were presented to Parliament by the Minister of State for Local Government, in the case of Rukungiri the presentation was made by the MP Major General Jim Muhwezi apparently without following the normal procedure.
I have also noted that the shadow Minister of Local Government “cautioned that municipalities should not be carelessly dished out”.
If the overall goal of municipality is to divide up land and sell it as plots to the highest bidder so that the municipality raises resources, that will be a regrettable approach that will impoverish people.
It would be appreciated if an explanation would be given and what a municipality means in terms of land ownership. Many of the people in Rukungiri that have been incorporated into the municipality depend on land for their livelihood and most of them are functionally illiterate and will not be able find work outside of agriculture.
Best regards.
Eric