Police, Town Council block Community efforts to renovate Playground

KAGADI

The concerted efforts of local residents who mobilized themselves and raised resources under campaign dubbed ‘’Save Kagadi Model Playground’’ to grade Kagadi model playground were on Saturday blocked after Kagadi security intervened following the Town Council authorities promised to begin working on the playground on Wednesday next week.

Kagadi Model Playground was given out to the Shengil Engineering Company Ltd who turned it to a dumping site and later left piles of soils on the sports ground forcing the community and soccer fans to raise funds to rehabilitate the sports field.

For close to two years, sports activities in Kagadi Town Council have been hosted in neighboring Muhooro Town Council, Kyanaisoke, Ruteete and other areas, something they claimed had caused a backslide in the business sector and talent development.

This forced the Kagadi District Male Youth Councilor Vincent Ssemuga to lead other residents in mobilizing funds to grade Kagadi Model Playground after the Town Council authorities delayed to rehabilitate the sports ground.

However, on Saturday morning, security led by the Kagadi District Internal security Officer Wilson Mwiranda who represented the Kagadi RDC Nicholas Kamukama Keine, held a meeting with the youth and resolved to hold another meeting on Tuesday next week with Kagadi Town Council authorities and youth leaders to make a plan on how the playground will be graded.

Mwiranda also said work on the Playground will start immediately on Wednesday.

Kagadi residents asked the Town Council authorities to allow the public grade the playground because they seem to have failed to renovate the playground.

Ssemuga commended residents for observing peace and asked them to remain calm as they wait for the set dates but also assured the community that works will start on Wednesday whether by Town Council or the Community.

He also noted that the community had by will collected over sh7 million and if need be they are still willing to collect more for the same cause

Meanwhile, speaking to our journalist, on a telephone interview, the Principal Town Clerk Kagadi Town Council, Geoffrey Mugisa said they have plans of grading the playground starting Wednesday next week.

“We have plans of working on the playground and people should not be misled. If they are collecting money from the community, they should know that they will have to account for it because the law is very clear. I cannot fail to sleep because of the group of people who are self-seekers,” Mugisa said

He however warned some people against blackmailing Town Council authorities that they sold the playground saying that some are self-seekers and fronting their selfish interests.

Last year in November, the youth and soccer fans demonstrated over delayed grading of the same playground and calmed down after the Town Council promised to start work by December only to hit a dead end.

Currently, the district is conducting a corporate league on a privately owned playground owned by Zika Foundation School, Kagadi Academy.