{"id":28301,"date":"2022-03-20T12:04:14","date_gmt":"2022-03-20T12:04:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/?p=28301"},"modified":"2022-03-20T10:49:24","modified_gmt":"2022-03-20T10:49:24","slug":"flood-of-problems-rock-electoral-commission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/flood-of-problems-rock-electoral-commission","title":{"rendered":"Flood of problems rock Electoral Commission"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Uganda. <\/strong><\/span>The Electoral Commission (EC) continues to shelve its plans to relocate to a new home at a great burden and cost, thanks to bouts of issues, including intrigue and infighting.<\/p>\n

The custodian of elections in Uganda, since 1997, the EC has been headquartered in a water catchment area off one of the major traffic arteries in Kampala.<\/p>\n

During the rainy season, the Commission severally grapples with the problem of floods.<\/p>\n

To compound matters, its long-standing relocation procurement plan doesn\u2019t appear to be primed to get the green light.<\/p>\n

ALSO READ<\/b><\/p>\n

: ‘Liveable future’ at risk, UN climate report warns<\/p>\n

For the umpteenth time, a whistleblower has petitioned the Inspector General of Government\u2019s (IGG) office over the plan.<\/p>\n

Sunday Monitor<\/b><\/p>\n

understands the whistleblower is keen to illuminate episodes of corruption that threaten to mar the procurement process.<\/p>\n

The process is being queried on account of flouting the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets (PPDA) Act insofar as adherence to an open bidding method of procurement and disposal is concerned.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe received it and it is being considered for investigation,\u201d Ms Ali Munira, the IGG spokesperson, said of the query.<\/p>\n

It is unclear when the investigations into the query will commence and how long ombudsman Beti Kamya will take to pronounce herself on the matter.<\/p>\n

It is, however, six years and running since Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra) approved the Kampala flyover project.<\/p>\n

The project was expected to force the EC out of its current premises. In fact, in 2016, Unra paid the Commission Shs20b in compensation to facilitate the relocation to a safer and better place.<\/p>\n

An additional Shs40m was released by the government for the same in 2019.<\/p>\n

Fights over money<\/p>\n

Multiple sources at the EC\u2014who requested to remain anonymous so as to speak freely\u2014told Sunday Monitor that their continued stay at the current premises has been occasioned by unending fights over money.<\/p>\n

ALSO READ<\/b><\/p>\n

: What 2021, past polls should teach electorate<\/p>\n

Our sources, for instance, said seven bidders submitted their proposals for the deal after the EC ran an advert in 2019.<\/p>\n

All were rejected on grounds that they did not fit the requirements.<\/p>\n

We understand that one of the buildings is situated in Bugolobi. Two others are in Kololo; another in Luzira; and the rest are in the outskirts of Kampala.<\/p>\n

The bidding process, according to the EC, took more than a year and a half to be resolved.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe challenge is that there are top government officials who want to gain from this deal. They have buildings across town which they want to sell off,\u201d one of our sources said, adding: \u201cWhen they don\u2019t get the deal because of lack of requirements, they use some people within EC and other procurement authorities to delay the process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other sources revealed that the \u201cunscrupulous\u201d dealers have blocked the EC from getting their preferred building\u2014the one that formerly housed Gems International School located on a 17-acre land in Luzira. The building has been reportedly red flagged on account of being expensive.<\/p>\n

Mr Leonard Mulekwah, the secretary to the Commission, neither confirmed nor denied the back-and-forth over their relocation plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know where all these delays are coming from because we have been cleared twice, all ready to proceed with the purchase of a new office, but I don\u2019t know whether the delays are coming from inside or outside,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mr Mulekwah said they want a place that will accommodate all their warehouses, stores, and offices for all the staff in one place for easy monitoring.<\/p>\n

ALSO READ<\/b><\/p>\n

: Climate grave threat to billions in urbanised world<\/p>\n

The Commission has more than four warehouses and stores in various places such as Banda, Kololo, and its head office.<\/p>\n

\u201cGems International School is one of our options because it is big enough and has ample parking and office space,\u201d he confirmed, before adding that \u201cwe are exploring other options.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2019, some of the bidders petitioned the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA) after being \u201cunfairly\u201d overlooked. The PPDA launched an investigation into the matter and later found that the EC had followed the right procedure.<\/p>\n

Mr Benson Turamye, the authority\u2019s executive director, told Sunday Monitor that a competent job was undertaken.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did an investigation. We visited the premises of the bidders and EC insisted that they did not meet the requirements for what they wanted,\u201d Mr Turamye said.<\/p>\n

Counting losses<\/b><\/p>\n

Yet with the upgrade of construction works at Centenary Park adjacent to the EC offices, the Commission\u2019s offices are in a sorry state.<\/p>\n

Floods are the order of the day whenever the heavens let loose. This has cost the EC dear, with work being paralysed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has posed many health risks to the workers and staff here. That is why moving from this place should have happened like yesterday,\u201d Mr Mulekwah, said.<\/p>\n

Last November, floods left a trail of destruction after sweeping through the EC\u2019s offices.<\/p>\n

A number of vital documents and machines were damaged. This also included the Commission\u2019s main printer \u2014a Canon 6000\/7000 CS Digital Production line\u2014used to print voters\u2019 registers and voter allocation slips, to mention but two major documents.<\/p>\n

Other items that are always ravaged by floods include rolls of printing paper, computers with databases about the country\u2019s major details, and other electrical machines.<\/p>\n

ALSO READ:<\/b><\/p>\n

Analysts call for independent electoral commission after Kayunga poll<\/p>\n

Mr Paul Bukenya, the EC spokesperson, said they use Shs150m to repair the main printer each time it is not spared by floods.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis time around, we have been advised to leave it to naturally dry with the sun and see how much it has been harmed,\u201d he said of the impact of last Tuesday\u2019s downpour.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut even as we wait for it to dry, we are under panic because another storm might come and cause more havoc.\u201d<\/p>\n

Delay to relocate:<\/b><\/p>\n

“We don\u2019t know where all these delays are coming from because we have been cleared twice, all ready to proceed with the purchase of a new office, but I don\u2019t know whether the delays are coming from inside or outside,\u201d Leonard Mulekwah, EC secretary.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Uganda<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Uganda. The Electoral Commission (EC) continues to shelve its plans to relocate to a new home at a great burden and cost, thanks to bouts of issues, including intrigue and infighting. The custodian of elections in Uganda, since 1997, the EC has been headquartered in a water catchment area off one of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":28300,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,8],"tags":[233,240,234],"class_list":["post-28301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","category-homepage-english","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-uganda","tag-uganda"],"yoast_head":"\nFlood of problems rock Electoral Commission - Uganda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Electoral Commission (EC) continues to shelve its plans to relocate to a new home at a great burden and cost, thanks ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/flood-of-problems-rock-electoral-commission\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Flood of problems rock Electoral Commission\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Electoral Commission (EC) continues to shelve its plans to relocate to a new home at a great burden and cost, thanks ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/flood-of-problems-rock-electoral-commission\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Uganda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-03-20T12:04:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2022\/03\/img-6237069a61ece.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/flood-of-problems-rock-electoral-commission#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/flood-of-problems-rock-electoral-commission\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Flood of problems rock Electoral Commission\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-03-20T12:04:14+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/flood-of-problems-rock-electoral-commission\"},\"wordCount\":1048,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/flood-of-problems-rock-electoral-commission#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2022\/03\/img-6237069a61ece.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Uganda\",\"uganda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\",\"homepage-english\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/flood-of-problems-rock-electoral-commission#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/flood-of-problems-rock-electoral-commission\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/flood-of-problems-rock-electoral-commission\",\"name\":\"Flood of problems rock Electoral Commission - Uganda\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/flood-of-problems-rock-electoral-commission#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/flood-of-problems-rock-electoral-commission#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2022\/03\/img-6237069a61ece.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-03-20T12:04:14+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"The Electoral Commission (EC) continues to shelve its plans to relocate to a new home at a great burden and cost, thanks ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/flood-of-problems-rock-electoral-commission#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/flood-of-problems-rock-electoral-commission\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/flood-of-problems-rock-electoral-commission#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2022\/03\/img-6237069a61ece.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2022\/03\/img-6237069a61ece.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800,\"caption\":\"Flood of problems rock Electoral Commission\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/flood-of-problems-rock-electoral-commission#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Flood of problems rock Electoral Commission\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/\",\"name\":\"Uganda\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cfeditoren\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Flood of problems rock Electoral Commission - Uganda","description":"The Electoral Commission (EC) continues to shelve its plans to relocate to a new home at a great burden and cost, thanks ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/flood-of-problems-rock-electoral-commission","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Flood of problems rock Electoral Commission","og_description":"The Electoral Commission (EC) continues to shelve its plans to relocate to a new home at a great burden and cost, thanks ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/flood-of-problems-rock-electoral-commission","og_site_name":"Uganda","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa","article_published_time":"2022-03-20T12:04:14+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":800,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2022\/03\/img-6237069a61ece.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/flood-of-problems-rock-electoral-commission#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/flood-of-problems-rock-electoral-commission"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"Flood of problems rock Electoral Commission","datePublished":"2022-03-20T12:04:14+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/flood-of-problems-rock-electoral-commission"},"wordCount":1048,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/flood-of-problems-rock-electoral-commission#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2022\/03\/img-6237069a61ece.jpg","keywords":["Africa Press","Africa Press-Uganda","uganda"],"articleSection":["all news","community","homepage-english"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/flood-of-problems-rock-electoral-commission#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/flood-of-problems-rock-electoral-commission","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/flood-of-problems-rock-electoral-commission","name":"Flood of problems rock Electoral Commission - Uganda","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/flood-of-problems-rock-electoral-commission#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/flood-of-problems-rock-electoral-commission#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2022\/03\/img-6237069a61ece.jpg","datePublished":"2022-03-20T12:04:14+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"The Electoral Commission (EC) continues to shelve its plans to relocate to a new home at a great burden and cost, thanks ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/flood-of-problems-rock-electoral-commission#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/flood-of-problems-rock-electoral-commission"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/flood-of-problems-rock-electoral-commission#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2022\/03\/img-6237069a61ece.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2022\/03\/img-6237069a61ece.jpg","width":1200,"height":800,"caption":"Flood of problems rock Electoral Commission"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/flood-of-problems-rock-electoral-commission#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Flood of problems rock Electoral Commission"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/","name":"Uganda","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"cfeditoren"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28301"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28301\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}