Makerere landlord wants sh10b for two halls!

Tuesday, 12th April, 2011
By Mary Karugaba THE owners of land on which Makerere University’s Africa and Livingstone halls sit, want it purchased at a cost of sh10b. According to the university secretary, Mushabe Kahunda, the university council has instituted a committee to study the legalities involved in the deal. Kahunda said the Government valuer had been contacted to value the land before negotiations with the landlords start. “After sorting out legal issues, a request shall be put to government to provide funds,” he said. Kahunda was yesterday appearing before the parliamentary committee on public accounts to answer audit queries on the university expenditure for the 2007/8 financial year. The report noted that the land Housing Livingstone Hall was under lease and the university was paying ground rent of sh15m per annum. The Auditor General’s (AG) latest report warned that if management did not act quickly, the university was likely to lose half of its main campus land, in addition to more than 30 pieces of land elsewhere. The report also noted that Buganda Kingdom claims half of the main campus’ land. Matters have been worsened by reports that the university did not have an original land title for its campus. The AG said the title got lost in 2006. In addition to the main campus land, the university has 40 land titles but of these, only eight were registered in the names of Makerere University Council. The remaining 32 were yet to be registered. Makerere is currently engrossed in a land dispute in Katanga, a city suburb and in Kololo.