Flood of problems rock Electoral Commission
The Electoral Commission head offices on Jinja Road. During the rainy season, the Commission severally grapples with the problem of floods. PHOTO/ ANDREW KAGGWA
What you need to know:
- The custodian of elections in Uganda has failed to relocate its offices from a flood-prone water catchment area off one of the major traffic arteries in Kampala.
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 major traffic arteries in Kampala.
During the rainy season, the Commission severally grapples with the problem of floods.
To compound matters, its long-standing relocation procurement plan doesn’t appear to be primed to get the green light.
For the umpteenth time, a whistleblower has petitioned the Inspector General of Government’s (IGG) office over the plan.
Sunday Monitor understands the whistleblower is keen to illuminate episodes of corruption that threaten to mar the procurement process.
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.
“We received it and it is being considered for investigation,” Ms Ali Munira, the IGG spokesperson, said of the query.
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.
It is, however, six years and running since Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra) approved the Kampala flyover project.
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.
An additional Shs40m was released by the government for the same in 2019.
Fights over money
Multiple sources at the EC—who requested to remain anonymous so as to speak freely—told Sunday Monitor that their continued stay at the current premises has been occasioned by unending fights over money.
Our sources, for instance, said seven bidders submitted their proposals for the deal after the EC ran an advert in 2019.
All were rejected on grounds that they did not fit the requirements.
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.
The bidding process, according to the EC, took more than a year and a half to be resolved.
“The 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,” one of our sources said, adding: “When they don’t get the deal because of lack of requirements, they use some people within EC and other procurement authorities to delay the process.”
Other sources revealed that the “unscrupulous” dealers have blocked the EC from getting their preferred building—the 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.
Mr Leonard Mulekwah, the secretary to the Commission, neither confirmed nor denied the back-and-forth over their relocation plan.
“We don’t 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’t know whether the delays are coming from inside or outside,” he said.
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.
The Commission has more than four warehouses and stores in various places such as Banda, Kololo, and its head office.
“Gems International School is one of our options because it is big enough and has ample parking and office space,” he confirmed, before adding that “we are exploring other options.”
In 2019, some of the bidders petitioned the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA) after being “unfairly” overlooked. The PPDA launched an investigation into the matter and later found that the EC had followed the right procedure.
Mr Benson Turamye, the authority’s executive director, told Sunday Monitor that a competent job was undertaken.
“We did an investigation. We visited the premises of the bidders and EC insisted that they did not meet the requirements for what they wanted,” Mr Turamye said.
Counting losses
Yet with the upgrade of construction works at Centenary Park adjacent to the EC offices, the Commission’s offices are in a sorry state.
Floods are the order of the day whenever the heavens let loose. This has cost the EC dear, with work being paralysed.
“This has posed many health risks to the workers and staff here. That is why moving from this place should have happened like yesterday,” Mr Mulekwah, said.
Last November, floods left a trail of destruction after sweeping through the EC’s offices.
A number of vital documents and machines were damaged. This also included the Commission’s main printer —a Canon 6000/7000 CS Digital Production line—used to print voters’ registers and voter allocation slips, to mention but two major documents.
Other items that are always ravaged by floods include rolls of printing paper, computers with databases about the country’s major details, and other electrical machines.
Mr Paul Bukenya, the EC spokesperson, said they use Shs150m to repair the main printer each time it is not spared by floods.
“This time around, we have been advised to leave it to naturally dry with the sun and see how much it has been harmed,” he said of the impact of last Tuesday’s downpour.
“But even as we wait for it to dry, we are under panic because another storm might come and cause more havoc.”
Delay to relocate:
"We don’t 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’t know whether the delays are coming from inside or outside,” Leonard Mulekwah, EC secretary.
