Opposition MPs protest govt’s plan to redevelop Lugogo Cricket Oval
Joyce Bagala (Mityana WMP) asked the government for an update on the development of Aki-Bua Stadium in Lira which was submitted on the list of stadia for Uganda to host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.
Opposition MPs have expressed fears about the government’s commitment to redevelop Lugogo Cricket Oval stadium, citing examples where in the past, public land has been given to investors for redevelopment, only for the projects to fail to take off & land later taken over by private individuals.
Kayemba Ssolo (Bukomansimbi South) cited UBC land in Kololo taken over by Aya Group & is now up for sale, Shimoni Demonstration School that was displaced & is now home to Kingdom Mall owned by businessman Sudhir Ruparelia.
He called for full disclosure of the agreement signed between the government & the Turkish investor before the re-development started.
Recently, President Yoweri Museveni met with officials of Summa Construction Company from Turkey at the State House in Entebbe. The President said Summa was going to construct a modern state-of-the-art multipurpose indoor sports complex with a seating capacity of 15,000 people at the premises of the National Council of Sports (NCS) at Lugogo, Kampala – where the Cricket Oval and MTN Arena, an indoor Stadium.
However, MPs like Kayemba say that “as much as we agree for its development, we have seen incidences where land is given to investors to develop it and we end up losing that land.”
Hillary Kiyaga (Mawokota North) said that the sports sector can’t be developed when the training grounds that are meant to champion this are given away. He urged the government not to abandon its responsibility of developing Uganda’s sports structures to the private sector.
“It is the government that has the biggest muscle to invest in the sports fraternity. But when the government gives away everything, where is their responsibility in this regard?” Kiyaga said, wondering if privatisation will develop the industry as they desire.
Joyce Bagala (Mityana WMP) asked the government for an update on the development of Aki-Bua Stadium in Lira which was submitted on the list of stadia for Uganda to host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.
She asked: “In 2023, the redevelopment of Aki-Bua Stadium in Lira was one of the issues raised in Uganda’s bid to host AFCON in 2027. We would like to know what the regime is doing and an update on the redevelopment of that stadium.”
Richard Lumu (Mitayana South) asked the government to be conscious of speculators who come disguised as investors, to avoid the fate that befell Aya Hotel to meet Lugogo Cricket Oval.
“We are worried about what will happen to the stadium because we don’t have agreements, which agreements were supposed to be made by the government and investors.
I want you to note that there are speculators in this country, that man who came to develop Aya Hotel, he made the money and left the country because he had made his difference,” noted Lumu.
