Makerere varsity land title missing

Auditor General John Muwanga

The land title for Makerere University has gone missing, the Auditor General, John Muwanga has revealed. Although the title deed for the largest and second-oldest higher institution of learning in the country is believed to have been either stolen or misplaced by unidentified people, Mr Muwanga has accused University managers of negligence for failure to replace the missing title deed.

“The land title for Makerere main campus was not availed because it got lost in 2006, but there was no evidence to show that management had made any effort to have it replaced,” Mr Muwanga wrote in his latest report to Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee.

The Auditor General said 40 land titles belonging to the university were reviewed, of which six were found to be in good status, three had expired leases, and 31 needed to be updated. However, of the 40 land titles, only eight were registered in the names of Makerere University Council, the remaining 32 were yet to be registered.

The University Council chairman, Dr Charles Wana-Etyem, said he was yet to receive the report. “I have not seen the report. If a report like that is out, the Auditor General is supposed to issue a letter to management to draw their attention to the queries in the report and it is then presented to the university council. Therefor I cannot comment on a document that I have not seen,” Dr Wana-Etyem said.

The university Vice chancellor and spokesperson were not available for comments.
According to Mr Muwanga, the various disputes affecting the Makerere University land appear to have been going on for a long time without necessary interventions by management.

“I advised the accounting officer to secure all the university land by obtaining the land titles, and renew those leases which could have expired. Management should also put in place proper policies and guidelines for management of University land,” he added.

The Auditor General has also questioned the appointment of the University Vice Chancellor Prof. Venansius Baryamureeba and his deputy after it emerged that by the time they were appointed, the Chancellor Prof. Mondo Kagonyera was in acting position, making the appointments null and void.

“The Act does not provide for appointments of the mentioned officials in acting capacities. This renders their appointments for over a year irregular,” the AG said.

“Furthermore, although their appointments in acting positions require them to be evaluated every six months to assess their performance, there was no evidence to show that the two officers were evaluated and reappointed,” he added.

By Yasiin Mugerwa, Daily Monitor