Bribes cited in the postponement of Lira City West Div. Council meeting 

Lira City West Division has 41 councillors and on Friday only 14 showed up for the meeting.

By Ceasar Okello

Lira – Oct. 1, 2022: The Council meeting for Lira City West Division scheduled for Friday, September 30 flopped as a quorum was missing.

The Division Speaker, Daniel Okello had called the meeting to allow Mayor Michael Ogwal Achonga to give the Division Address. As is required by law, the Mayor/Chairperson, at the beginning of the financial year should give the state of the Division address.

During the flopped Council meeting at the former Lira sub-county, only 14 councillors out of 41 turned up, prompting Okello to adjourn the meeting until further notice.

Speaking to TND News, Okello said he called for the meeting based on Rules 12 and 28 that allows him to do so.

He also said Mayor was frustrated with the move to approve members of the Area Land Committee that he said has for so long brought confusion between the executives and councillors.

He also accused Mayor Ogwal Achonga of bribing councillors not to allow them to attend Council meetings.

Mirriam Kalsum, the female representative of Blue Conner and Ipito Aweno acknowledged receiving shs100, 000 on Thursday but she didn’t admit there was pressure to boycott the Friday meeting.

Another councillor, Harriet Apili of Starch Factory said the division is faced with numerous challenges that would only be addressed through a Council meeting.

Apili gave an example of impassable roads in Starch Factory and other Wards, saying most of them need rehabilitation.

She wondered how the elected councillors would receive a bribe of shs100000 for them not to attend Council meetings.

Meanwhile, Mike Ogwal, the area Councillor for Kakoge Ward could not believe what has happened.

Ogwal predicts that Mayor and his executives and technical staff headed by Division Town Clerk could have snubbed the meeting for fear of being grilled over the corruption tendency at the Division.

He said that they have landed on several documents showing how Town Clerk Jimmy Angole has got money to the tune of shs35 million in the name of borrowing from a private person without Council approval.

Ogwal vowed to petition State House Anti-Corruption over the matter.

An attempt to get a comment from Mayor Ogwal Achonga was futile by the time of editing this story. He, however, did say he was in for a meeting and later decided not to pick up the repeated calls.

Since 2021 when Lira City West Division became fully operational, there have been fights between the executives headed by Mayor and his councillors.