Contractor says Ssezibwa Bridge works now at 80%

Omega Construction that was contracted by the government to tarmac a road and construct the bridge that connects Nakasongola to Kayunga district, has said the construction works, have progressed to 80%, nearing completion.

The Ministry of Works and Transport contracted the company to construct the bridge in 2019 at a tune of sh15b.

The construction works were meant to last 18 months, which was not possible, thus an extension of another six months, to enable the company to complete the works.

On Friday last week, the state minister of works and transport Musa Ecweru inspected the works and expressed dissatisfaction with the slow progress of the works on the bridge.

However, in a statement by Omega Construction, the company defended the progress of the works saying much of the work had been done.

“The works are being inspected and supervised by the government of Uganda under the contract and 80% of the work has been done,” Pius Mugalaasi Mugerwa, the Omega Construction managing director said.

According to Mugalaasi, the company is in the advanced stages of execution of the project and has completed 80% of the contracted works, representing 95% of the earthworks.

He explained that the contracted works are executed according to the said contract adding that the equipment which is part of the contract has successfully been used to construct the roads in Uganda.

Contract

The company is undertaking the construction of the Ssezibwa (Bulandi-Gyira) Swamp crossing between Kayunga and Nakasongola district under procurement reference no. MOWT/WRKS/18-19/00408.

The contract was signed between Omega and the government in April 2019. However, inspecting the project over the weekend, Ecweru attacked the company for delaying the completion of the construction works.

Ecweru gave the company an ultimatum of two months to complete the works, which he said were behind the scheduled time.

The minister accused Omega Construction of using obsolete equipment which he said is supposed to be in the museum.

“The excavator, vehicles and water bowser and other equipment on-site don’t work, therefore no work is done by Omega,” Omega quoted Ecweru as saying during the inspection.

In response, however, the company refuted Ecweru’s statement describing his remarks as reckless and aimed at tarnishing the name of the company.

“The statements made by Honorable Musa Ecweru are not true, are reckless, malicious and unfair and are meant to discredit, damage and embarrass Omega Construction Limited in the eyes of the Public, existing and potential clients,” Mugalaasi said.

“The false statements made against Omega Construction Limited are not only intended to pull down an indigenous contractor in favour of foreign companies but are also actionable in law,” he added.

According to Mugalaasi, the equipment used by Omega on the project was inspected and approved during the contracting process as per the list of approved equipment in the contract document.

“The equipment is fit for the purpose and has been used and continue to be used to execute all the contracted works according to the contract signed between Omega and the government of Uganda,” he said.

During the inspection works, Ecweru also detected connivance with authorities such as the Uganda Road Fund and local governments which he accused of swindling government funds without executing the works for a number of construction projects.

Ecweru’s inspection of the project followed a petition to Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja by local leaders, complaining of the delayed completion of the project, to which Nabbanja called for investigations into the matter.