Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwaago was yesterday left stranded when a meeting he called to address accountability issues of the city flopped as several councillors and the city’s technical people did not turn up. He was left with no option but to adjourn the meeting to next week.
Lukwaago, who was bitter, saw this as part of a plot to weaken the position of the Lord Mayor, claiming the Minister for Kampala, Betty Kamya, was behind the boycott.
“I know the Minister wants to take the powers of the Lord Mayor and it is the main reason why she is trying to push Members of Parliament to quicken the process of amending the KCCA [Kampala Capital City Authority] Act. She wants to give most of the powers to the Minister such that she is the one to decide for the city. These are the very things that failed the meetings the other times. We are not going to allow this to happen again,” Lukwaago said.
Lukwago told journalists at City Hall that the technical team was much aware of the plot given that no one from the Clerk’s office was around to take minutes. He claimed that they had even hidden the keys to the Chambers.
He vowed to continue to push for accountability especially of money for the cancelled Kampala City Festival this year and the previous festivals.
Lukwago has over the years been at loggerheads with KCCA executive director Jenifer Musisi and the Ministers for Kampala over the management of the city.
