Africa-Press – Uganda. Officials from Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project have ordered all affected persons in Tororo Municipality, Tororo District, to vacate the land to pave way for the government to start demarcation.
Mr David Alele Mugabe, the SGR project communications officer, said the vacation notices were a reminder to all individuals who were compensated, but they have refused to leave thus delaying project works.
“Majority of the project affected persons have exhibited compliance by demolishing their structures, but others have remained adamant despite the reminders,” Mr Mugabe said.
The project acquired more than 200 hundred acres of land in Tororo Municipality to build, among other things, the railway station that will serve the Kampala and the northern route lines.
Nearly 1,600 affected residents were mostly from Amagoro A North, Kasoli, Ogola and Tororo hospital villages and out of those, 55 have not yet been compensated.
The planned railway system, which is intended to replace the old metre gauge, will link the country to the neighbouring countries of Kenya, Rwanda, DR Congo as part of the East African Railway master plan.
Mr Mugabe said the demarcation exercise will kick off this week, adding that the contractor has been secured to demolish all the existing structures.
“We took a decision because some of the affected persons are not respecting the agreed position even after receiving disturbance allowances to vacate the compensated land within three months,’’ he said.
Mr Mugabe said out of the affected persons, only about 50 have not yet been compensated due to several reasons including family conflicts over ownership of the land.
“Such categories have family conflicts, incorrect land ownership or claim that their properties were undervalued,” he said.
Mr Mugabe said despite the delays, the pre-construction works, including technical harmonisation and land acquisition in various districts are ongoing.
“From December to date, SGR has put out more than Shs20 billion to cover compensation of more than 400 project affected persons. We have also been going through a tough economic period with the economy contraction due to the Covid-19 pandemic,’’ Mr Mugabe said.
He said the government has responded to the issues that had been raised by the China Exim Bank regarding loan application towards the SGR construction.
“Among the issues raised is about connectivity with Kenya, loan repayment and post construction operation and has managed to respond to all,” Mr Mugabe said. He also said the government has already acquired 120 km out of 130 km corridor stretch between Tororo and Mayuge.
“The process to acquire land between Jinja and Kampala is ongoing and the SGR land acquisition team is on the ground,” he said.
The deputy Resident District Commissioner, Mr Yahaya Were, however, urged the affected persons who have been compensated to vacate.
“They should respect the agreed position to pave the way for the construction of the project. We will offer total support, including provision of security as the demarcation exercise kicks off,” he said.
Last month, MPs on the committee of Physical Infrastructure opposed government mooted plans to allocate Shs7.2b for compensating squatters on the Uganda Railways Corporation [URC] land.
“It will be unfortunate if the government goes ahead with the compensation. These are squatters who illegally encroached on the railway line and compensating them will amount to corruption,” Mr David Karubanga,the committee chairperson, said.
Mr Okware Amadede, the chairperson of Amagoro “A” North Village, who is one of the affected persons, said he needs more time before he can relocate. “The government delayed to compensate me. I need to discuss with my family and plan where to migrate to,” he said.
What the affected persons say
Ms Ereminah Okoth, another affected person, said government has not yet given her compensation. “I don’t think it is logical to issue me a vacation notice when the government has not fulfilled its obligation. They should know that I did not apply for the project to pass through my land,” she said.
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