Africa-Press – Uganda. Local leaders in Ntungamo District have attributed the delayed construction works on a memorial technical institute in honour of former First deputy Prime Minister Eriya Kategaya to financial constraints.
Construction of the institute at Karagwe Village in Itojo Sub-county started four years ago. More than Shs2b has so far been spent on the project.
“It is hard to complete this school. Government has not been releasing enough funds for commencement of construction. To have such an institute operationalised , you need a lumpsum funding,” Mr Hanny Turyahebwa the chief administrative officer, said last Thursday.
Kategaya, then minister of East Africa Affairs and 1st deputy Prime Minister died in Nairobi , Kenya, on March 2,2013.
“We have been promised funding but the money is not coming. A contractor was procured by the district to have works done but the Ministry of Finance has not released funds. They are delaying the exercise,” Mr Denis Muhumuza Savimbi, the Itojo Sub-county councillor, said.
The district first received Shs200m in 2016, which was unspent by the close of the financial year.
Another Shs600m was released in 2017, which was used to construct dormitories, pit-latrines, classrooms, among other structures.
In a March 12 memo from the Business Technical Vocational Education and Training (BTVET) construction management unit, addressed to the assistant commissioner technical education, Ministry of education, Ms Ms Loy Muhwezi, the Finance ministry had earmarked Shs769m for the project .
However, the bids and contract offer was higher by Shs91m, an issue the memo wanted addressed.
“The Financial year 2020/2021, the Ministry of Education and Sports allocated Shs769.5m for construction of additional facilities (staff house, workshop, toilets and showers) at Eriya Kategaya Memorial Technical Institute. This is in addition to a total of Shs608.2m released to Ntungamo District Local Government since F/Y 2017/2018 for construction of facilities as part of efforts to operationalise the technical institute,” the memo read in part.
However, in the same memo, the best evaluated bidder, Gremu Trading company Ltd, was demanding Shs861.3m to do the work. The memo was thus requesting for adjustments in the contract as Shs300m was to be spent on the institute next financial year.
Several other buildings have since stalled after the lead contractor, Mr Benard Asiimwe of Asibe Construction Company died in an accident last year.
Slowed down
Mr Gregory Mugisha of Gremu Construction, who was among the contractors, said delayed funding has slowed down their work.
“One is given a construction and another company is contracted to roof. When you are done with construction, roofing must wait for the next financial year,” Mr Mugisha said.
While visiting the institute recently, the Inspectorate of Government recommended that some structures be destroyed because they were substandard.
The outgoing district chairman Mr Denis Singahache, said if the funds are availed, the institute will be in place by end of 2021.President Museveni pledged to construct the institute at Kategaya’s burial.
Courses
The institute is expected to offer courses in carpentry and joinery, building construction, sewing, hair dressing, design, Information and Communication Technology, mechanics and driving and welding, among others.
If operationalised, the institute will be the third government-funded one after Kabatsi Technical and Ihunga Polytechnic institutes.
