Councilors from Bikurungu Town Council, Rukungiri District have rejected a motion to lease a piece of land belonging to the Town Council and asked the Town Clerk to invite the Resident District Commissioner and Chief Administrative officer to guide them on the matter before the next council sitting on 29th March 2023
The councilors on Friday held an impromptu consultative council meeting at at JADE Garden in Bikurungu Town Council to pass a minute enabling the leasing of the Town Council land for 25 years.
The Town Council Administration proposed to lease the Town Council land located in the middle of the Town, and is occupied by lockups , to raise funds towards the completion of the new Town Council offices and procuring land required by government to establish a seed school.
Councilors say that they can’t pass a minute that contravenes the law following a letter from the permanent secretary dated 8th June 2020 warning against sale of government land,
The Town Clerk Bikurungu Town Council Najuna Charles convinced the Councilors that the initiative of leasing the land is based guidance from experts and the proper physical Development Plan of the Town Council.
The District Councilor for greater Bwambara Sub County also a resident of the area Kwehangana Matsiko who attended the council sitting applauded the councilors for representing views of the locals and further noted that locals opposed leasing the land because it is the only land owned by the Town Council.
The Chairperson of Bikurungu Town Council Business Community Mucunguzi Wilber says that the business community is against leasing the land because the existing lock ups are not occupied and the space serves the public different ways.
The Bikurungu LC3 chairperson Kajuna Wellen called on councilors to accept the proposal for the purposes of revenue mobilisation.
