Kyenjojo town council has failed to implement the urban development ordinance meant to improve on the buildings structures in the town.
According to the ordinance that was passed by council in October last year, all buildings are supposed to have sanitation facilities, while those that are dilapidated are supposed to be renovated by the owners. The ordinance also mandated that all new structures should be completed and electricity installed before being occupied.
To enforce the ordinance, the council put a penalty of up to two million shillings or closure of the buildings for those who failed to abide by the guidelines.
However, over a year after the ordinance was passed, the policy has never been implemented.
There are still buildings in the town with no toilets and running water while tenants are occupying buildings before they are completed. Some structures are in a sorry state.
At Basaliza building, in the centre of town, there is no single toilet. The tenants are forced to use the toilets at Kyenjojo Health Centre IV and the district headquarters at Kasiina. The roof of the building leaks and the walls have cracks.
Simon Agaba, a tenant at the shop says that the toilets of the building got blocked three months ago and the landlord has reportedly done nothing to solve the matter.
Agaba says that when it rains, they lose customers because they have to remove their merchandize from the shop.
At Emamba Esazire building on the Kyenjojo- Hoima road, the building constructed in 1986 has never been renovated. The roof leaks but the tenants seem not to bother.
The building has only one toilet that is shared by ten tenants, there is also no cement on the floor and items in the shops are all dusty.
Rose Bagonza, a trader says that she is not bothered by the condition of the building because of the low rent she pays to the landlord. Bagonza says she pays 40,000 shillings every month.
But Twine Twaha, the Mayor Kyenjojo town council says that the policy is not being enforced because the town council faces a shortage of law enforcement officers.
Twaha says that there are six law enforcement officers in the town who are often posted to other parts of the town council. He says that the town council has written to the district service commission requesting for recruitment of more enforcement officers.
However some residents claim that the council has the manpower, but it selectively enforces the law.
Margaret Komuhendo, a resident of Kyenjojo town council says that last month, several shops which did not have licenses were closed down by the law enforcement officers. She says that the buildings that do not meet the required standards should also be closed.
Komuhendo claims that the landlords bribe the officers not to close their buildings.
