By KT Reporter
Florence Namayanja, the Masaka City Mayor and Doctor Patrick Kasendwa, the City Health Officer, are on the spot for blocking the establishment of a community safe water source and confiscating the drilling tools.
The residents of Kiyumba ward in Nyendo-Mukungwe division are angry at the duo for stopping a local Community-Based Organization from drilling a borehole in the area to improve their access to safe, clean water.
On Thursday, Namayanja and Dr. Kasendwa stopped the drilling of a borehole at Kiyumba Health IV, a charity project by Sserinya Community-Based Organization, and accordingly confiscated all the equipment on the site, accusing the CBO of operating without authorization from the city authorities.
They condemned the drilling of a community borehole on the compound of the Health Center, arguing that it did not conform to the public health protocols and would also compromise the security of the whole health facility, as people would be walking in and out as they fetch water at any time.
However, the intended beneficiaries, led by Medi Mukasa Luswata, the LCI Chairperson of Kiyumba cell, have taken a swipe at the Masaka City authorities for blocking a significant project that was going to solve a prolonged acute water scarcity in the area.
Luswata expresses great disappointment with the decision of the Mayor and City Health Officer to block a community water project at a public health facility, despite the apparent need for a reliable water supply.
He indicates that the Health Center IV is located in an isolated area, at the edges of the city, which suffers from unreliable water supply; a problem that affects the staff, patients and the neighbouring community.
As a remedy, Luswata says that they appealed to the Community Based Organization, which also agreed to support the area with a borehole, and the local council preferred to have it put at the compound of the Health Center, to avoid the possibility of privatising it as private property.
He argues that commencement of the project, the village council sought permission from the Health Center Management Committee and Nyendo-Mukungwe Division Council, but they were surprised that Namayanja and Dr. Kasendwa could obstruct the works with total disregard for the intended beneficiaries.
Cue out: …..nga ate twetaaga amazzi.”// Luswata is threatening to mobilize the communities to camp at the Mayor’s office, to express their displeasure and demand for resumption of project works.
He argues that they have repeatedly raised the problems affecting the effective operations of the Health Center, but the City leadership has not been addressing them, wondering how they can block a community-invented solution
Doctor Patrick Kasendwa, the Masaka City Health Officer, says they jointly stopped the drilling of the borehole due to procedural flaws that local leadership deliberately overlooked, yet they may affect the project in the future.
He has advised the community to look for an alternative site on private land where they can put the borehole. But Richard Katumba, the Masaka Assistant Resident City Commissioner, says that their office has taken an interest in the clash, indicating that it will be resolved in the interest of the community-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
