KAMPALA – Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago has skipped a meeting that was meant to reconcile differences between him and Kampala Minister Beti Kamya.
The meeting, which had been called by Ms Kamya on Tuesday, was meant to resolve longstanding differences between the two political leaders that have crippled service delivery.
However, Mr Lukwago chose to keep away and instead sent a letter through Deputy Lord Mayor Sarah Kanyike, indicating that the Minister was out of order to call him for a meeting when there is a longstanding suit that he has against her in Court.
“…the Lord Mayor is seeking for prerogative Orders of Court to restrain the Minister for passing off as the political head of Kampala, usurping the executives powers of the Lord Mayor and interfering with the Authority meetings. She can’t therefore facilitate a harmonization meeting as an impartial chair,” the Lord Mayor’s July 24 letter reads in part.
Mr Lukwago added at the moment he cannot reconcile with a minister who re-tabled the KCCA Amendment Bill to Parliament last year that is intended to strip the office of the Lord Mayor of all powers.
“The Authority passed a resolution that the Bill be withdrawn but the Minister ignored it. This must be revisited,” the letter adds.
He added that although the High Court had declared his 2013 impeachment null and void, Ms Kamya has blocked the payment of his salary arrears forfeited during the period he was out of court. Lukwago dragged Ms Kamya, Ms Musisi, the Attorney General of Government and KCCA, seeking orders to compel the respondents to release his accumulated emoluments and salary arrears worth 563.4million shillings for the period of December 2013 to May/2016.
Nevertheless, the meeting went ahead without the Lord Mayor and lasted five hours.
Shortly after the meeting, Ms Kamya said they appointed a five-member committee that will engage the Lord Mayor.
The committee, to be chaired by the Deputy Lord Mayor Sarah Kanyike, will comprise Kawempe Division Mayor Emmanuel Sserunjogi and Kampala Central Division Mayor Charles Musoke Sserunjogi.
“As Kampala leaders, we have resolved to put aside our differences and focus on service delivery for our people. I officially invited the Lord Mayor but he declined, but we have set up a committee to convey some of the resolutions that we made and also ask him to attend the next meeting,” she said.
