KABAROLE: President Yoweri Museveni says he has started a new war against what he calls thieves, who allegedly steal government funds through hiked compensations hence delaying government projects.
Museveni was speaking to residents at Buhinga play ground in Fort Portal town on Thursday evening before he commissioned the rehabilitated Fort Portal-Kamwenge road.
Museveni said that the Shs 141 billion 66 km road worked on by China Railways 7 was at first delayed by the cancellation of the funds by the World Bank over sexual abuse on the girls along the project and by Mr Perezi Bisangwa who rejected government compensation in Kamwenge district.
Museveni said Bisangwa, a resident of Kamwenge district rejected Shs 80 million as compensation on his small portion of land about 2 kms on Kamwennge-Fort Portal road and instead demanded Shs 1 billion to allow works on the Kamwenge-Fort Portal road a thing he said also delayed the project.
“I have now opened a verbal war on these thieves, how can a judge award high costs like Shs 1 billion to thieves who delay government projects”
“Am going to probe these thieves, greedy people, it seems they collaborate with some government officials in courts” Museveni warned in reference to the on going land bill that has attracted public debate where he is personally pushing for amendments in the constitution to allow government acquire any land anywhere suitable for government projects like road, water and electricity.
He explained that his government has managed to work on several roads around the country since 2006 because of “correct prioritization” on roads.
He said in 2006, he asked the NRM caucus to focus on few projects like roads and prioritize them a thing that he said has made tremendous success like the Fort Portal-Kamwenge road.
The new road is one section of the highway, Fort Portal-Nyahita road that was constructed in 3 phases–Nyakahita-Kazo 68km, Kazo-Kamwenge 72 km and Fort Portal-Kamwenge and has already boosted business and tourism along the districts it passes through from Kabarole, Kamwenge, Ibanda and Kiruhura.
