WHY ED CONCEALES INFORMATION ON KCCA PROJECTS

KCCA speaker Zahara Luyirika presiding over council meeting at City Hall

Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) deputy executive director Eng. David Luyimbazi sweated in council meeting as councillors tasked him to avail to council the documents regarding the bills of quantity and the contracts that KCCA signed with the contractors.

The that was presided over by the speaker Zahara Luyirika was convened on February 2, 2023  with a major agenda of putting to task to the executive wing to bring the said documents to the council and explain them were the need be but Eng Luyimbazi did not come with real documents that the council wanted to look at.

When asked by councillors why he didn’t bring the required documents, he said that he wasn’t obliged to give the document to councillors, and he informed the council that some information is classified and the law allows the executive wing not to disclose such information.

The deputy executive director brought to council some documents which were saturated to councillors which many said that were not the one that they had requested for and Eng Luyimbazi had not even signed them.

The speaker Luyirika she needed a proper comprehensive report on  accountability and the road projects that have been completed , those that are ongoing  and those planned to be done in the near future but the report Eng. Luyimbazi brought to council didn’t have such information.

This prompted council to resolve that the executive director herself, Dorothy Kisaka should attend the council meeting that is scheduled to take place on February 15, 2023 with the comprehensive report regarding the matter in contention.

“If the executive is saying that they are not swindling tax payers money, then the KCCA Executive director herself should come and attend the next council meeting with a comprehensive report narrating how the road funds are being utilized“. Luyirika said.

Luyirika further said that council wants the contractors also to appear and bring the contracts they signed with KCCA such that the political wing looks at them and the chair person should also be able to tell council the basis of awarding contracts yet it the same contractors all the time that are awarded contracts yet they do shoddy work.

KCCA Executive Director Dorothy Kisaka

She adds; “ We want also the director in charge of engineering department , his technical team and the chairperson contracts committee also to attend the meeting because Councillors have a lot of queries as regards to the contracts and bills of quantity on the road projects’’.

Councillor Ssempijja  Bismark who represents workers Unions, wondered how  as an elected leader can do the monitoring and oversight role when he is denied the information regarding the services rendered to his constituents is concealed by the custodians of the Authority.

“ We were elected by Kampala residents to do an oversight and monitoring role on the social and economic services as well as the different projects done by KCCA but we are rendered useless by the executive wing and we shall not accept this to go on like that we shall force them to do what the law requires’’. Ssempijja said.

He adds; “ We are fighting for service delivery and value for money. We want to look at the documents regarding the projects such that we can check and supervise basing on these documents’’. He reasoned.

Councillor Faustina Bitaano (Makindye West) said that the leader of the executive wing of KCCA are just incompetent and government need to just fire them because whenever council tasks them to avail to it the documents regarding the projects they are implementing they just bring to council different information which is  a sign of incompetence.

“ Whenever council tasks the executive wing to bring and explain to the meeting on the different projects the are undertaking they just start fighting a cold war. There is a need by the appointing authority to scrutinize the leaders of the executive wing evaluates the way they are doing their work’’.  Councillor Bitaano said.

The four year project of reconstructing Kampala Metropolitan started in 2022 and government has borrowed funds from African Development bank to the tune of US $ 278 million to accomplished the road projects.

By George Bukenya

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