Africa-Press – Uganda. Prime Minister Robinah Nabanja has castigated district local governments over their failure to effectively use the available government programs to construct classrooms and other school structures with stakeholders opting for fundraising which is a costly measure.
Ms Nabanja said while the government has set up funds like schools facilities grant and the current World Bank-funded U-Gift program, local governments have failed to utilize them well making more schools lack proper classroom structures.
“I had sworn not to give my money to fundraise for government school structures, especially primary schools. The government put a lot of money into many projects to construct these schools, but you people at the district never utilize it. As the district, you must come here and build classrooms. We have given you money through a school facilities grant. What we are doing here can’t be sustainable,” she said on Saturday during a fundraising function for the construction of a new Classroom block at Bwizibwera Primary School in Ntungamo District.
She said underutilization of the project money by districts is making it hard for the government to achieve targets in a number of classroom coverage.
“If districts were utilizing well the funds we give them, we would not be having a challenge, but look now, we are fundraising for what we don’t know that we shall get complete,” she said.
The Ntungamo District Education Officer Mr Fred Bahati said the district only has 48% of the required classroom structures with the rest of the classrooms either improvised or not nonexistent at all.
The fundraising was organized by the Rushenyi County Member of Parliament Ms Naome Kabasharira.
Ms Nabanja contributed Shs20m towards the construction. Over Shs64m was registered in both cash and pledges.
Meanwhile, at least 12 classrooms were this week handed over to Ntungamo District by contractors and commissioned to schools for use despite protests by school management bodies over lack of involvement in the execution of contracts and priority setting.
Commissioning classrooms at Kiyoora primary school on Friday, the Ntungamo District chairman, Mr Samuel Mucunguzi, castigated the Ministry of Education for drawing structural plans and providing bills of quantities for the development of the classrooms without involving the district which at times affects the contracts’ performance.
“It’s sad that as the district we have less to do about these contracts as all the structural plans are made at the ministry level. But I promise starting with the next financial year, we must do things differently. We must implement works that are unique to Ntungamo district. We shall discuss with contractors and everyone implementing works to see that what we do is universal for all schools in the district and unique to Ntungamo, the ministry should never dictate to us,” he said.
Two classrooms were constructed at Kiyoora, Four at Kahija and four at Katojo and two at Kagyezi Primary Schools.
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