The Kampala Capital City Authority council led by the Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago has appointed a four-member committee to study the upcoming festival and make recommendations on how "it can be owned by the authority rather than the executive director" Jennifer Semakula Musisi.
The four committee members are Central Division Woman Councillor Fatumah Nsereko, Central Division Male Councilor Katubu Moses, Youth Male Councilor Otim Ronald and Makindye East Councilor Ismail Tabalamule who will be the committee chair.
The committee has been given 10 days to report back to the council. It has been asked to propose how the festival can enhance the image of KCCA as an institution rather than Musisi's.
Council claims that the annual festival, which will be held for the sixth time from 6th to 8th October, has been confined under the ambit of the executive director. The festival activities were launched on July 19th but none of the councillors was invited to grace the occasion. Lukwago said the executive director never invited him for the launch that was held in the Lord Mayor's Parlour.
"The corporates come here wine and dine in the gardens called Lord Mayor's Parlour without bothering to ask why the Lord Mayor is not invited. The executive director had no courtesy to invite the lord mayor to attend festival launch," Lukwago said.
The councillors unanimously agreed that there is urgent need to re-align the image of the festival so that it can represent the image of the whole institution.
Central Division Woman Councillor, Nsereko Fatumah said events organising by the technical wing of KCCA are proceeding when councillors are not informed. She also argued that 8th October, the main festival day, is the same day when Buganda Kingdom celebrates its independence.
Lukwago said the executive director has also taken the city festival patron title and everything about the festival centres around her.
Lukwago said he doesn't want the festival to have his image as an individual. "I don't want it; I want to see an event that represents the image of the institution. This is a very serious matter. The event is being organised in central division; where is the central division leadership, where is the mayor? Where are the central division councillors? We need to ask these questions."
After the event last year, Nakawa II Councillor Kennedy Okello was sent by the council to probe event activities but management refused to give him any information he requested for.
Acting Executive Director Sam Sserunkuma told councillors that the event is sponsored by the private sector but Okello, referring to last year's event, said KCCA budgeted 883 million shillings for the festival of which 522 million came from the private sector. Okello said KCCA management has never responded to queries on where the extra amount spent in last year's festival came from.
