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Parliament Rejects Shs21bn Compensation To Church Of Uganda

Parliament has voted to reject the proposal by Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development to pay Church of Uganda Shs21.25bn as compensation for the Church’s land at Entebbe that is currently occupied by Government facilities including Headquarters of  Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) and the Veterinary Department of the Ministry of Agriculture.

Parliament’s decision was premised on the recommendation by the Budget Committee in its report on the Shs3.8Trn supplementary funding that was approved by Parliament.

Patrick Isiagi, Chairperson Budget Committee asked Parliament to suspend the approvals until the Ministry of Lands ascertains the correct amount of money it owes the Anglican Church.

 “The verification and ascertainment of the actual outstanding amount of money to Church of Uganda is still ongoing and as such not yet concluded; and further the Ministry requested for more time to come up with the actual outstanding amount. The Committee therefore declines approval of Shs21.25Bn until the actual outstanding amount has been confirmed,” Isiagi said.

The development comes at the time the Church of Uganda has established an aggressive fundraising drive to save Church House that is facing auction over the Shs48bn debt to Equity Bank.

However,  Buganda and Bunyoro Kingdoms will have something to smile about after Parliament agreed to compensate the two cultural institutions.

Parliament approved a recommendation in the majority report and approved Shs26.36bn to settle claims of Buganda Kingdom and Shs7bn to settle claims of Bunyoro Kingdom against Government of Uganda in fulfillment of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between Government and the two kingdoms.

In the same supplementary funding, the Ministry of Lands will pay Shs19.382bn to settle claims of Land owners affected by development of Amuru Sugar Factory.

The Committee observed that the total outstanding compensation claims of land owners affected by the development of Amuru Sugar Factory is Shs19.382bn.

However, Ministry of Finance only provided Shs14.14bn, leaving a balance of Shs5.24bnn.

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