By Inyakuni Kennedy

Moyo

Moyo district local government is staked with a Multi-billion twin projects meant to improve access to social services in Moyo district particularly Dufile Sub County. The two separate incomplete projects that cost tax payers billions of shillings include construction of maternity ward at Araa Health center ii and construction of multi-purpose hall, two classroom blocks, ICT laboratory, administration block, and accommodation for teachers among other buildings at Dufile seed secondary school in Dufile Sub County.

The total cost for the projects at Dufile seed secondary school is UGX: 2.172 Billion funded by government of Uganda under Uganda Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfers Program for Results. While the maternity ward at Araa health center ii is shillings three hundred million. But the district leaders of Moyo have blamed the delay to complete the projects on incapacitation of the contractors and high procurement level.

Mr. opira Joel said the beside the capacity gap of the contractor, the return of the money to central treasury is also blamed for delay to complete the buildings. He adds that the district has done all what could to ensure to projects are finished.

However, he denied the claims that the contractor for Dufile seed school was not paid that resulted into the locking of doors. “If you look at our records as soon as he requests for payment we normal pay him upon carrying out measurement. We have paid him two certificates, and by the time when returned to back to treasury he was as per the work he had done. These are things which we can not control as district because money always go back when service provider has not finish work on the ground” remarked.


Mr. Male Michael DEO Moyo district 

Mr. Male Michael, the Moyo District Education Officer said the contractor of Dufile seed secondary school in Moyo in the names of Achoru united trader Ltd was also given contracts of the same nature in Adjumani, Yumbe, and Koboko and Maracha districts. He notes that non of the projects awarded to the company is commissioned because the company was badly selected from Gulu which was a lead local government. “The contractor had capacity issues, we wrote to him several warning letters including at one moment asking him to get for us a sub-contractor .Many of the building you see there were actual constructed by the sub-contractor because the law allow the contractor to be given 30% advance of the total project cost. When he got money from Adjumani, yumbe, koboko and maracha amounting to over UGX: two Billion out of UGX: ten Billion he was supposed to get for the construction of the five seed secondary schools, his life style changed,  became expensive at end of the day the building could not move on” Mr. Male said.

He adds that issues of covid-19 and environment which cut off the contractor from transporting materials to the site because the area was flooded.
Mr. Hassan Kaps Fungaroo the emeritus Obongi consistituncy said there must be a deliberate efforts to profile unfinished projects in Moyo so that the contractors are brought to book for coursing financial lost and denial of services to the local population.

Mr. Gilbert Olanya, the Member of Parliament for clerk South County in Amuru district said there is need to dig deeper to understand why several contracts are being awarded to same contractors. “You know most of these contracts for seed secondary schools and other big contracts were given right from the center (Kampala). For instance in Acholi sub region construction of seven seed secondary schools were given only to one contractor, and two of them are in my district. So this idea of giving so many contracts to an individual, I think there is some God father somewhere where they connive, they look for where to get money, and they impose somebody there just purposely to swindle money and divide among themselves which is disadvantaging many seed schools in the area” he lamented.

However, Olanya blamed the district leaders for keeping quiet over the matter despite of the suffering of the community members who are suppose benefit from the project.

COVER PHOTO: Locked ICT Lab & unfinished Science Lab at Dufile Seed Secondary School By Inyakuni Kennedy