The local amateur boxing body’s Moses Muhangi is by day losing hope, thanks to the delays in receiving land promised to them (Uganda Boxing Federation) by the Statesman.
Six months ago, September 13th 2021, President Museveni gave
Uganda Land Commission boss, Beatrice Byenkya Nyakaisiki instructions to apportion and deliver land to Uganda Boxing Federation for building an art-of-the-state facility for sports development.
However, delays and on the time failures, to heed to president Museveni’s directives to give at least 10 acres of land to the sporting body is slowly and steadily making Muhangi’s face look a heavily disappointed man who just had a bad day in office.
Muhangi, who upon the directive announcement harbored faith in Nyakaisiki delivering soonest to the presidential directive, is now pondering changing game plan.
On the ten-acreage piece of land, Muhangi had proposed to construct a multi-purpose sports facility by the International Boxing Association-AIBA, a project that has stalled due to the delayed response by the Uganda Land Commission to allocate them the land.
The Federation president Moses Muhangi, says that the Commission is yet to respond to the president’s directive to allocate the federation 10 acres for the construction of the multi-purpose sports facility.
In writing and documentation on record, on September 13, 2021, President Museveni directed the chairperson of Uganda Land Commission Beatrice Nyakaisiki to identify and allocate the Boxing Federation at least 10 acres of land for the construction of an amateur boxing facility.
“The President of the Uganda Boxing Federation appealed to me for allocation of the government land to the Federation. The Federation intends to partner with the International Boxing Federation to construct a state-of-the-art academy,” read Museveni’s letter in part.
He added; “Since Government has always supported the development of sports. You should identify and allocate at least 10 acres within a radius of 30 miles from Kampala to them”.
“However, clear covenants should be included in their lease agreement so that government can repossess the land if they are unable to develop it within a given period. You should work with the Ministry of Education and Sports on the matter”.
Museveni’s letter was in response to Muhangi’s appeal to the government last year to allocate them land to set up an international multi-purpose facility for boxing worth US$ 5million donated by the International Boxing Association- AIBA, which tasked the federation to find suitable land to host the facility.
Alarming and frustrated
However, six months since the president’s directive, Muhangi says that they are yet to receive the land. “The Uganda Land commission has not acted as the presidential directive”, he said.
“Either they have rejected it or they have disregarded it because ever since the President gave a directive, we had the ministry of education and sports write to them, but they have not called us, so the Uganda Land commission is basically frustrating the process,” Muhangi says.
Muhangi says that by doing so, “UCL delayed the process of which even the funders might withdraw their funds and instead go and invest somewhere else because the fund is not there for a lifetime. We have made attempts to engage Uganda Land Commission but there is no response. We made an effort to meet with the outgoing chairperson, she promised to get back to us, then nothing has happened.”
Change of game eye
A disappointed Muhangi revealed to the media that the Federation has already approached the Buganda Kingdom for an alternative due to the delayed compliance of the Uganda Land Commission. He said that the kingdom has already offered to give them land for the facility.
“The Buganda Kingdom is proposing to give us land, we think it is as an alternative, they have identified land although it is out of town, the one of President Museveni would be ideal because it was supposed to be in a radius of 30 miles from Kampala, which makes it closer to town and given that the facility we want to build is supposed to be income-generating, it needs to be in town so that people can use it and generate income, but if you take it far away from town, then you will never maintain, it will break down,” Muhangi notes.
Sports facility scheme;
According to plan, the facility is to be full-sized and equipped so that all potential boxers, officials and other stakeholders have access to its facilities.
The facility will also have an academy that will provide core and supporting programs to cover key areas and components: development courses for athletes, coaches, R&J, sport and competition managers.
Boxing expansion
AIBA President Umar Kremlev said earlier that the boxing academy in Uganda will establish the best practice standards related to techniques and sciences in the overall development of boxing.
If the facility is set up, it will come as a relief and a game-changer for Uganda’s sports industry as it will create another option of an indoor stadium in the country. Uganda only relies on the MTN Indoor Arena in Lugogo. The other option is the incomplete Makerere University Arena in Makerere University.
Author Profile
- Mr. Daniels N. Tatya is an affluent Sports Writer, Commentator and Editor. His over 15 years of covering almost major sporting events makes him a revered and an authority on investigative Sports journalism in Uganda. He can also be reached via [email protected] +256(0)758268315
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