Leader of Opposition in Parliament Joel Ssenyonyi and members of the shadow cabinet gesture after they were barred from accessing the Roko Construction company premises in Kawempe, Kampala on October 14, 2024. PHOTO/COURTESY/OMUNAKU ALINA PLAN
ROKO Construction Company has explained the circumstances under which the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament failed to access their premises early this month.
Mr Joel Ssenyonyi alongside his shadow cabinet claimed that on October 14, they were denied access to the construction company’s premises located in Kawempe, near Kampala.
They were investigating the Shs23b government bailout money extended to the company. Mr Ssenyonyi added that the oversight visit to ROKO was necessary because the government was seeking an additional Shs200b for the construction firm.
But in a statement issued on Wednesday, ROKO gave its account of what happened.
“When you look at the video of when the Leader of the Opposition was at the gate, he came with hooligans. There were about 50 people surrounding him; most of them were not MPs. So, the fear was letting them in the company premises, they would wreak havoc, others would end up either destroying or picking up items,” the statement read in part.
It added: “Three months ago, Mr Ssenyonyi was given access to ROKO offices, given all the information but when he left the premises he reported the opposite of what he saw and heard.”
In 2022, Parliament passed a resolution, allocating ROKO Shs263.3b. This came after the government purchased a 15 percent stake in the construction company.
Of the Shs263.3 billion, Shs207.13 billion was disbursed as a loan where the government gave a promissory note (more of a guarantee) to the bank with a balance of Shs56.2 billion to be paid to ROKO in the Financial Year 2024/25.
Sources say ROKO used Shs207.13 billion of the bailout funds to clear loans with banks, suppliers, creditors, and employees who have unpaid salaries, taxes and NSSF.
The rest went into completing projects such as the newly constructed parliamentary chambers, the Ministry of Finance building and the Statistics House.
ROKO also denied claims by the LoP to be among the companies listed to construct Lubowa Hospital.
