District headquarters to follow standard design, construction costs
“The intention for the huge BOQs is not for huge buildings, but for huge kickbacks,” Minister Nameere said, alleging that inflated construction budgets were being used to facilitate corruption and collusion between some officials and contractors.
State minister of Local Government, Justine Nameere displays a copy of New Vision during a press conference at Workers House in Kampala on September 17th, 2026. (Credit: Ronnie Kijjambu)
KAMPALA - The government has introduced standard designs and uniform bills of quantities (BOQs) for district and city headquarters in a bid to curb inflated construction costs and improve accountability in local government projects.
The new standards will guide local governments on the costs and specifications of administrative buildings, while stricter vetting of contractors will be introduced to prevent districts from awarding projects to firms without the capacity to complete them.
State Minister for Local Government Justine Nameere said the measures were among the key achievements of her first 90 days in office.
She made the remarks on September 17, 2026, during a press conference at Workers House in Kampala, where she reviewed her first three months in office.
Nameere said the ministry had identified what she described as a growing trend of corruption in the construction of district and city headquarters, with some local governments proposing unusually high construction budgets.
She said some proposed headquarters had bills of quantities worth sh19b, sh14b, sh10b and sh18b.
However, Nameere said the ministry had found that other headquarters constructed at between sh2b and sh4b had been completed and were fully functional.
“The intention for the huge BOQs is not for huge buildings, but for huge kickbacks,” she said, alleging that inflated construction budgets were being used to facilitate corruption and collusion between some officials and contractors.
To address the problem, Nameere said the government had approved a new policy requiring local governments that have not yet started construction to follow standard designs and uniform BOQs.
Nameere said the standards cover areas such as offices, toilets and accessibility facilities for persons with disabilities. (Credit: Ronnie Kijjambu)
“This is going to come a long way in saving corruption, but also in quality and integrity,” she said.
Under the new system, the ministry will establish standard specifications for key components of local government buildings, reducing the scope for individual districts to develop significantly different cost estimates for similar facilities.
Nameere said the standards cover areas such as offices, toilets and accessibility facilities for persons with disabilities.
The designs will also allow for alternative energy sources, including solar power.
“This is going to have allowances for solar, for alternative energy,” she said.
The minister said the standardisation was intended not only to reduce opportunities for financial abuse but also to address poor workmanship and inconsistent construction standards.
She said the government would also strengthen the vetting of contractors before they are awarded projects.
“We have been having big scandals of people giving contracts to contractors that are not able to execute their work,” she said.
The new policy has already been communicated to mayors, commissioners, resident district commissioners, chief administrative officers and other stakeholders, Nameere said.
She added that the guidelines took immediate effect after being communicated on September 2, 2026.
The standardisation of headquarters construction is part of a wider accountability campaign by the Ministry of Local Government, which Nameere said had shifted its focus towards field inspections and direct verification of government projects.
She said ministry officials were increasingly spending time in districts instead of relying solely on reports submitted by local governments.
According to Nameere, some reports received by the ministry had not accurately reflected conditions on the ground because of collusion among officials.
She said the ministry would continue inspecting local government projects to establish whether public funds were being used for their intended purposes.
Nameere said the reforms were aimed at ensuring that government resources are directed towards functional infrastructure and better public services rather than being lost through inflated costs, poor procurement practices or incomplete projects.
She said the ministry would continue working with other government agencies to strengthen accountability and ensure that local governments adhere to the new construction standards.