The chairpersons of districts in the greater Masaka region led by Jude Mbabaali have filed a lawsuit in the High Court over government’s refusal to approve their municipality as one of the towns to be elevated to city status.
Mbabaali says the move to exclude Masaka from the just approved cities by the Minister of local government Tom Butime was deemed intentional because Masaka had all the necessary requirements.
“There are three main requirements considered and we have them all. Firstly the area has to have a population of about 500000 which we have. It also requires having a good water source; we have Lake Victoria and River Nabajuzi. And lastly Masaka is commercially viable, we produce 40% of the total coffee export,” Mbabaali said.
The chairpersons want the high court to order the minister to explain his decision of snubbing Masaka.
Over the weekend, Mbale residents led by their area Woman Member of Parliament also protested government’s decision not to include Mbale amongst the first bunch of the five districts that will become cities effective July 1, 2020. The cities that will be elevated include Arua, Gulu, Jinja, Fort Portal, and Mbarara.