On May 5, 2021, Richard Ssekyondo, the Entebbe Division ‘B’ LC3 Chairperson was sworn into office amidst high expectations from the electorate. Two years down the road, he has disapproved of his detractors by delivering tangible achievements.
Works department
To tackle sanitation and hygiene issues in the area, all the public toilets that were in a dire state have been renovated; the Nakiwogo market toilet is now tiled for ease of sanitation maintenance. A 2,000 litres capacity water tank and hand washing equipment have been installed.
Kiwafu playground is re-greened, a gate fixed at the entrance and the perimeter fence is stone pitched, transforming the facility into the best playground in Entebbe municipality.
A number of roads have been repaired; Merryland road, Kajoba road, Lower Namiro road, Baise road and Ham Mukasa road. The new one is the1.5km- Dina road in Bunonko/Misori village
Further, a perimeter fence worth Shs98m is under construction at Entebbe Division ‘B’ Head offices to curb trespassing, burglary, and vandalism.
Environmental department
To conserve the environment, Division’ B’ has planted 4,000 trees, among them the shady medicinal within school compounds and along the roadsides.
Ssekyondo also says the council has acted upon noise pollution, by confiscating their music equipment, while churches have been advised to soundproof their places of prayer. The Council has also finalized plans to meet drivers and traffic police to discuss the practice of motorists who make a lot of noise in town.
The Council is also spearheading the sensitization and awareness creation among the people of wetlands conservation, of which many people are appreciative.
Production, Marketing and social rehabilitation
To increase the people’s productivity, the council has selected homes in Kiwafu west and Lugonjo/Nakiwogo zone to host demonstration farms. The selected farmers are also exposed to agro expo exhibitions for modern farming practices.
The Council is also working to enforce trade orders in Kigungu and Nakiwogo markets, especially during market days (open markets), where the menace of homeless dogs has been addressed.
The Council is also sensitizing its people on the Parish Development Model, which has been received with open arms; over 50 youths have been assisted to access bank loans to enable their income-generating projects.
Finance and planning unit
Still, in his first tenure, he has intensified revenue mobilization. A number of businesses have been assessed and evaluated, prompting some increase in revenue collection. Further, there is a continuous review of council budgets hence monthly financial reports.
Public health
Ssekyondo says for people to live and work in a healthy environment, the council has privatized garbage collection and contracted private companies like to collect and dispose of garbage in the town.
He says this would reduce council expenditure on garbage collection which has reduced from Shs120m to Shs60m. The council has also increased its budget for drainage maintenance from Shs30m-60m and thus fixed a number of drainage systems.
It has also launched a community service campaign (Bulungi bwansi) in which the people participate every last Friday of the month, an opportunity for sensitization on proper garbage management.
Education and sports sector
The council has fumigated and renovated some Universal Primary Education (UPE) schools dilapidated like Kiwafu primary school, Nakiwogo primary school, Kigungu primary school and Kiwafu Muslim primary school.
Ssekyondo has offered bursaries to 350 needy students to pursue their studies right from primary to university level. He adds that he has extended full bursaries to girls who had babies during the COVID-19 lockdown to help them return to school and they are in school.
Ssekyondo says he has also organized several sports galas to promote talent among the local population; with the first edition of the 2022 Entebbe Netball Tournament, each of the ten winning teams from 10 villages was gifted with a goat.
Community Development
Under Ssekyondo, the council has set up an incubation centre at Entebbe Comprehensive secondary school to retool the unemployed locals and established adult literacy centres at Kiwafu and Kigungu primary schools respectively, to fight illiteracy.
Statutory body
To resolve disputes related to land among other things, the council has set up an area land committee and LC2 Court to handle matters related to land wrangles and food damage. Several cases have successfully been resolved.
Challenges
There is a problem with infrastructure development and furniture shortages in most UPE schools, which calls for government intervention.
Market vendors, who hire poor families’ children to vend their ware perpetrate child labour, hence a warning that the culprits will be prosecuted.
For education, there is no established seed secondary school in Kigungu parish, despite the council’s talks with the command of Lutamaguzi barracks to offer land for its construction. With a seed school in the Kigungu area, poor students will easily access education affordable education.
However, poor performance in government schools has been exposed through national exam results. Sekyondo attributes this to a lack of strict monitoring of teachers in government schools, which they take advantage of to mind their businesses rather than the learners’ future.
The foregoing is not helped by the Ministry of Finance’s delays in releasing operational funds yet the council remits its collected revenue in time to the ministry to enable it to determine the expenditure in any given coming financial year.
Ssekyondo is also not excited by the government’s failure to facilitate him with official mobility; hence his movements in the service of the people are curtailed.
Appeal to government
Ssekyondo appeals to the government to avoid the initiation of politically skewed programs like NAADS, youth livelihood Funds, and Operation Wealth creation, among others which he says, have not helped people out of poverty for their lack of business skills.
He calls for consultations with the prospective stakeholders before the implementation of such policies but is positive about the government’s injection of funding in agriculture and talent promotion for increased youth productivity.
He is averse to the government’s protection of individuals who commit crimes against the environment, but rather bring them to book; whereas he takes issue with the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) to comprehensively address the circulation of substandard and harmful products on the local market.
Ssekyondo also wants the government to prioritize skilling and the Ministry of Education and Sports to start ICT lessons at the primary education level.(By Sadique Bamwita& Peacock Kaweesa)
