By Felix Basiime & Alex Ashaba:
President Yoweri Museveni has threatened to take legal action against private radio stations over what he calls promoting misinformation on land matters.
Speaking last evening on a local radio station in Fort Portal town, the president demanded for a list of radios so that he could sue them for hosting people he said have been peddling lies on land matters.
He said he would not allow “indiscipline” by people who delay development projects by trying to loot from government through compensations, threatening to take stern action against some individuals who hike the value of land and delay government projects.
“Delaying government projects is an enemy to the youth unemployment. The one who is fighting a factory is fighting youth employment and tax base” he said and urged all people to fight the people who delay government projects.
He said most governments in Africa own all lands in their country and they just lease it to the people.
“To know the price of land in any given area is simple and it is common knowledge why should government come to buy your land and you hike the price, people want to loot government, most government projects have been paralyzed due to delayed negotiation and compensation issues” he reasoned.
He said another man in Kasese district near Nkenda power station had 2 acres but demanded Shs 17 million and delayed work.
The President is on a countrywide tour in radio campaign to push for the setting up of a land tribunal and change of the current land laws and also defuse what he called toxic misinformation by his political opponents.
The president will address the media in Kampala and Wakiso on land matters at State House Entebbe on Sunday.