Apac streetlights malfunction 2 weeks after installation

The lights were installed as part of the World Bank-funded Uganda Support to Municipal Infrastructure Development Additional Funding (USMID-AF) Project.

They were installed on the upgraded Chawente (0.8 kilometres) and Chegere (0.65 kilometres) roads. The project’s total sum was Shs16 billion, and was implemented by Abubaker Technical Services and Al-Anuimi Group in a joint venture.

Mr Sam Omara, a businessman on Chegere Road, is worried that the town may be in darkness in the near future since most of the streetlights are non-functional.

“Our streetlights have not yet taken even a month but four of them are now off. My fear is if four of them are already non-functional, will all these lights take even a year?” he said.

“I am appealing to our elected leaders to open their eyes, and if we have reported anything bad, they should take immediate action,” he added.

Mr Robert Odongo, a guard at A-One Hotel where one of the lamps has no longer works, asked the municipal authorities to expedite the repair of the faulty ones.

“When these streetlights were installed, people received the news with a lot of excitement and personally, I was very happy because my workplace was well-lit but my workplace is now back to darkness,” he said.

When contacted, Apac Municipal Engineer Francis Odongo said they are following up with the contractor to rectify the defects since the project has not yet been officially handed over to the council.

“The contractor had contracted another company to supply these solar streetlights and there is a warranty for five years. So, we shall follow it up so that the warranty is transferred from the contractor to the municipal council. We are working around to have some small money for maintenance,” he said.

Mr Patrick Ongom Eyul, the mayor, said the solar streetlights were delivered according to the specifications but suspected that there could have been some technical problems during the installation or transportation.

“Those things happen,” he said. “It could be that during transportation some elements could have got damaged. So, this still falls within the defect liability period and we shall contact them (the contractor) to come back and work on it,” he said in an interview last Thursday.

Background

A recent mini-survey conducted by this publication shows that most streetlights installed in several cities and municipalities across the country under the USMID programme are no longer functioning. For instance, about 57 percent of the installed street lights along the central business area in Tororo are non-functional after their batteries and charger controllers were vandalised by scrap dealers in the town.