Kamuli council in a frenzy over unpaid allowances, political wrangling

A chairman in Kamuli district has canceled a council meeting, citing lack of quorum and non-payment of Shs175,000 transport and accommodation allowance to each of the 44 councillors.

The councillors, rather than meeting at the Kamuli Youth Council Hall where they usually conduct business, decided to sit under tree sheds.

Namasagali sub-county councilor Moses Kabaale attributed the failure of the council meeting to unpaid allowances and political differences between LC5 chairman Maxwell Kuwembula and Chairman Charles Mpalabule.

“The electorate is bound to lose service delivery if the infighting between the LC5 chairman and the Council chairman continues. We only sat twice compared to the six mandatory meetings in a calendar year, which could attract penalties if not cleared, Kabaale said on Friday.

He asked the two warring parties to resolve their differences amicably and focus on their official duties.

“It is incumbent upon the Speaker to play his role as stipulated in the Local Government Act Cap 243 rather than changing the gate posts. If he has interest in running for the LC5 post, then that is another matter, but he does not sacrifice service delivery for their personal wars,” Kabaale said.

The District Youth Councillor, Noet Nangobi, attributed the repeated failures of the council to vested interests, political hatred, intrigues and lack of technical guidance from the technical team led by the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO).

Kuwembula distanced himself from allegations that there was a power struggle and feud between him and the President, saying he supported Mpalabule on a personal level and described such allegations as “rumors and images”.

He however accused Mpalabule of wanting to have rotating councils at the sub-county level without consultation from the Executive Committee and the CAO, but remained optimistic that this would be resolved and they would move on.

Mpalabule said the idea of ​​having the rotating council at the sub-county level was opposed by Kuwembula, but they wanted the local leadership to express their views and issues to the district.

He said: “Our plan was to give five to ten minutes to the LC3 chairmen of the respective sub-counties to discuss the rotating council issues but surprisingly he (Kuwembula) denied.”

Mpalabule, who has rescheduled the next council meeting for November 7, confirmed he would contest for Kuwembula’s seat but said it was “on a personal level, which has nothing to do with my work as Speaker”.

He explained that he canceled the council meeting due to lack of quorum as the councilors decided to sit out on the assumption of unpaid transport reimbursement.

“They have been here several times without receiving their allowances and have decided to boycott and sit outside the hall, which is why we have gone out of business.”

Kamuli CAO Nasser Mukibi accused the councilors of “blackmailing” the district yet they were paid but only had “unresolved personal issues” and remained optimistic that the Speaker would resolve them at the next council meeting scheduled next week.

“It is not true that they have not been paid because this council which was supposed to sit today (Friday) has been fully facilitated. It failed due to unresolved issues. No one is asking the district for any compensation,” added Mukibi.