Masaka City Council authorities are hunting for Shillings 6billion to facilitate the construction of appropriate administrative headquarters.
Masaka is among the seven new cities inaugurated in July 2020 after the government approved their elevation from municipality status. Apparently, the city is operating its administration offices from scattered buildings formerly occupied by Masaka Municipal council.
Godfrey Bemanyisa, the Masaka City Clerk, says that the current arrangement is inconveniencing them hence the need to put all administration offices under one building to ease coordination of services and staff.
Bemanyisa says that they have considered the idea of constructing a befitting city headquarters as a lasting solution to the challenge of inadequate office space, which even affected the previous leadership.
According to him, the city technical teams are working on a draft structural plan for the proposed headquarters, whose construction they intend to undertake in phases.
Bemanyisa explains that they estimate the construction to cost at least Shillings 6 billion, which they anticipate raising through local revenues and grants from the central government and donors.
Florence Namayanja, the Masaka City Mayor indicates that they are doing all it takes to give the urban local council a new face befitting its status, adding that they are going to reach out to different stakeholders for financial support that will complement the city’s budget.
According to Namayanja, some of the premises they inherited from the former municipality are in bad shape after spending many years without getting any major facelift, adding that they have considered the construction of headquarters among the priorities of their work plan for the next financial year.
Dr. Abed Bwanika, the Kimanya-Kabonera division member of parliament has advised the city leadership to consider the idea of expanding from the current construction site of the Masaka district local government, which is now required to shift their headquarters outside the boundaries of the city.
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