Prime
Govt seeks Shs6b to repair Uganda House in Nairobi
Uganda House on Kenyatta Avenue in Nairobi, Kenya, on fire during anti-Finance Bill demonstrations on June 25, 2024. PHOTO | BONFACE BOGITA | NMG
What you need to know:
- Gen Odongo had appeared before the committee to share the status report on the six-floor Uganda House building on Kenyatta Avenue in the Nairobi central business district that was partially torched on June 25.
Foreign Affairs minister Gen Jeje Odongo has asked the House Committee on Foreign Affairs to approve a Shs6 billion supplementary budget meant to repair Uganda House in Nairobi, Kenya, which was damaged by anti-tax protesters in June.
“I pray that this honorable committee approves a supplementary budget allocation of Shs6 billion for the restoration of Uganda House in Nairobi, Kenya, to provide adequate office space for staff at the mission and generate the anticipated Non-Tax Revenue (NTR) for the country,” Mr Odongo’s statement read in Parliament.
He added: “It is important to note that upon completion of the renovation works, we projected to collect NTR Shs4 billion at full occupancy. Therefore, the amplifier effect of restoring the building on generating NTR for the country is enormous.”
Gen Odongo had appeared before the committee to share the status report on the six-floor Uganda House building on Kenyatta Avenue in the Nairobi central business district that was partially torched on June 25.
Renovation works were slated to end in the same month and the building was meant to be handed over to Uganda government on June 28.
Submissions from Gen Odongo and the Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary, Mr Vincent Bagiire, indicated that prior to the said fire incident, the building had been undergoing renovation that were being undertaken by Ambitious Construction Company.
Whereas Mr Bagiire stated that the construction company had put the Uganda House under insurance cover at the start of the renovation works, no report was made available to the MPs.
Legislators demanded for assessment report from the insurer on the matter to inform the committee’s ruling on the same, but the government feared that this may take two years to get a comprehensive report.
“There are two issues here. One; it was incumbent and our duty to determine the extent of damage and from the report of the consults, the extent of the damage is worth around Shs6 billion. That fact, we now have,” Mr Bagiire said.
He added: “The second issue is that the constructor, Ambitious construction had insured the Uganda House project at the start of the renovation. And indeed the insurance company has visited Uganda House as part of the inquiry into the fire… Allow us sometime to exhaust that process and see if indeed the insurance that the contractor had taken out covers the [fire] incident of the June 25.”
In reaction, the Shadow Foreign Affairs minister, Mr Muwada Nkunyingi, insisted that detailed reports about the fire incident be availed to the committee before a conclusive position is arrived at.
“This statement will cause us a challenge when the official report about the fire comes. That [statement on the fires] may be the basis of compensation. As a committee of Parliament, we don’t want to engage in what came up as a verbal conversation [between ministry and Kenyan officials] yet it is on record that investigations into the same matter are still going on,” Mr Muwada said.
In the same way, the chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Ms Catherine Lamwaka, ruled that no immediate discussions would be carried foward over the Shs6 billion request.
The Committee resolved to plan and make an on site spot-check on the Nairobi-based facility and also review all relevant documents regarding the matter.
Consequently, the committee instructed ministry officials to file all documents related to the matter to Parliament by close of business today [Thursday]. These include, documents on insurance cover and contract agreements with Ambitious Construction Company, among others.
