Prime
EC relocation stuck in procurement cobweb
Electoral Commission head offices on Jinja Road in Kampala. The planned relocation of the electoral body offices to a permanent home has on several occasions hit a snag. PHOTO / FILE
What you need to know:
- A certificate seen by this newspaper indicated that Property Services Limited’s boundaries are 150 metres away from the Nema line and had been commissioned by Mr Museveni in 2008, with all clearances, including from Kampala Capital City Authority.
The Electoral Commission (EC) is currently pressed between a rock and a hard place after the roads authority threatened to evict its Jinja Road-based head offices to pave the way for the completion of the multi-billion Kampala Flyover project.
The planned relocation of the electoral body offices to a permanent home hit a snag after a whistle-blower petitioned Inspectorate of Government to look into the procurement of an 18- acre- piece of land in Butabika in Kampala.
Before IGG halted the procurement, Property Services Limited had found land at Plot 102/104 in Luzira, Butabika Road and the authorities at EC had agreed to buy the former Gems Cambridge International School land and buildings at Shs111b.
However, when the brokers learnt of this deal, they petitioned the IGG, claiming that the land is a wetland, a claim EC officials, who talked to Daily Monitor but requested not to named, disparaged as “a handiwork of a mafia scheme”.
The Kampala Flyover project that was commissioned last year is expected to affect a number of buildings and public entities, including the current home of the EC, Kitgum House and part of Centenary Park.
Despite the compensation of Shs20b in 2016, the EC has flouted several deadlines to vacate the premises, including one in 2020, which was called off due to the impending general election at the time, and another in June 2021, which has since passed.
The EC has tried five competitive open bidding processes but all failed on account of endless administrative reviews.
After the Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra) served them with the second notice to vacate before June 2021, they tried again and failed to get successful bidders but received unsolicited bids from four property owners.
After open bidding failed, EC used emergency window and requested the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA) to allow them use direct procurement method. The Gems International School property and a four-acre- piece of land in Bweyogerere, Wakiso District, came through this procurement method after PPDA investigated and cleared the deal.
Daily Monitor understands that several meetings and warning letters between Unra and other stakeholders, who are currently standing in the project’s way, have not yielded any fruit, with the first lot already in its final stages.
Last week, this newspaper exclusively reported the changing face of the flyover project around Queens’ Way, Nsambya area, and part of Entebbe Road, which Unra officials say is expected to be concluded by the end of the year after which they would embark on the Lot II.
UNRA speaks out
Mr Allan Ssempebwa, the Unra spokesperson, confirmed that lot II of the project affects the EC offices but they are pending relocation of the occupants for the preliminary work, whose commencement is long overdue.
“The law allows us to demolish or force eviction of an entity or individual whom we have compensated and has refused to relocate. The EC area was cleared and we should be demolishing it,” Mr Ssempebwa said.
The government has since released Shs60b to facilitate EC relocation but the IGG investigation is derailing the already overdue process.
Without giving specific dates, while inspecting the two properties in question, IGG Betti Kamya said they are taking on the task with speed to make sure the EC relocates.
Museveni letter
On March 7, President Museveni wrote and pointed out that a report had been submitted to him indicating that the preferred building in Butabika is located in a wetland, giving the Bweyogerere building, which is on four acres, an edge. Sources at EC, however, defended the Shs111b 18-acre-piece of land and the structural integrity of the buildings as a perfect facility for a one-stop-centre, rejected wetland claims and accused brokers of misleading the President.
A certificate seen by this newspaper indicated that Property Services Limited’s boundaries are 150 metres away from the Nema line and had been commissioned by Mr Museveni in 2008, with all clearances, including from Kampala Capital City Authority.
Ms Munira Ali, the IGG spokesperson, said the investigations are still ongoing and are yet to take shape.
EC stuck
Asked what this means for the EC, Mr Leonard Mulekwah, the EC secretary, said they are “stuck” .
“It is the mandate of government to house us, we already have so many problems of floods which ravage the place whenever it rains. Even before the [fly over project] came up, we had requested for relocation but as it is now, we can’t move until the IGG clears us,” Mr Mulekwah said.
He added: “We have always been looking for enough parking space, stores, warehouses, offices, enough room for expansion and printer space. We needed a place that can give us our own nomination [space] for candidates, a tally centre and other activities.”
Mr Paul Bukenya, the EC spokesperson, said: “The continued stay in this place is affecting us, including the upcoming women, LC1 and LC2 elections. Whenever we go for tallying or nominations at a place such as Kyambogo, the entire neighbourhood closes their activities for all the days we are there.”
