By Isaac Imaka
The eviction of vendors from Nakivubo Park Yard market may have been described as brutal by some, but minister for Kampala, Beti Olive Kamya who made the directive says it was the proudest thing to do and wants parliament to give her a “handshake”.
Presenting a ministerial statement in Parliament this afternoon, the Minister had tactfully refused to read out the part that asks Parliament to reward her for her actions but Kasilo MP, Elijah Okupa, put her on a point of order and read out the part the minister had skipped.
When the Speaker asked her to clarify whether she was actually asking for a “golden handshake”, Kamya smiled and confirmed, in the affirmative saying it is a choice of Parliament to reward.
“It is a resounding mission for which Parliament deserves to give me a handshake. I am proud that we have successfully brought to end a twenty year old dispute and we relocated over 5000 people without teargas, without a gunshot”, Kamya said in a statement.
“I am very glad that the park yard market that I saw in the middle of a city has now been brought down and that Nakivubo can now be development in an ultra-modern facility we all deserve,” she added.
However, MPs representing Kampala counties disagreed with her actions.
“The minister should have ensured that the time frame given to people to relocate is enough for them to relocate in an orderly manner. The people we are protecting are not from Kawempe. They are from Kamuli, Iganga and everywhere,” said Mr Abdulatif Sebagala (DP, Kawempe North).
The “golden handshake” mantra was picked from the language the URA Commissioner General, Doris Akol, used when justifying the Shs6bn that government gave to officials who were involved in arguing out the oil arbitration case again Heritage Oil Company.
