Jinja district begins renovation of 96-year-old headquarters

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The Jinja District Council has embarked on renovating its 96-year-old dilapidated office premises.

Constructed in 1930, the premises, located on Plot 1 at Busoga Square in the heart of Jinja city, have never been renovated despite hosting key offices, including those of the regional and district internal security officers and the resident district commissioners.

Only the Ministry of Internal Affairs previously renovated part of its immigration section on the ground floor and constructed a waiting shed and toilets.

Moses Batwala, the area LC5 chairperson, said the premises had developed cracks in some of the walls, with visibly rotten fascia boards that posed a threat to occupants.

One of the technocrats, who preferred not to be named, welcomed the renovation, saying it was long overdue.

She said some essential facilities, especially the toilets, no longer met urban standards because they were no longer flushing.

She added that even the few toilets that still flushed had worn-out systems, with water flooding across the floor.

The premises were built by the British colonial administration and initially served as civil registry offices and a residence for governors.

They later acted as the provincial headquarters for the entire Busoga region until the district local government relocated its offices there.

Previously, the Jinja District Local Government was housed at the Busoga kingdom headquarters in Bugembe.

This was during the tenure of its initial LC5 chairperson, Samuel Muwumba, who served for 13 years between 1989 and 2002.

When Fredrick Ngobi Gume took over in 2003, a scramble for Busoga properties ensued, and he quickly relocated the district offices to Busoga Square in the then Jinja Municipality in the same year.

However, Gume was defeated by independent candidate Lt. Hannington Basakana during the 2006 general elections. In 2011, Gume made a comeback and secured another term, during which he sold part of the district land to the Bank of Uganda for expansion.

In 2016, little-known Titus Mutanda Kisambira of the NRM defeated seven others in the race.

During Kisambira’s tenure, he used proceeds from the sale of land to the Bank of Uganda to begin constructing permanent district headquarters in the then Buwenge subcounty. The area was later elevated to a town council last year because it hosts the district offices.

Since Busoga Square was adjacent to the then Jinja Municipal headquarters, now Jinja City Council, Kisambira also ensured that the district secured separate land titles.

Realising that the Busoga Square premises were giving the district a poor image, Batwala, who has been serving his second term since 2021, noted the need to give the facility a new face.

Councillors resolved to allocate sh180m for the renovation. The contract was awarded to Cifrorym Uganda Limited to paint the entire interior and exterior of the premises, including the iron sheets, and to repair the toilets and broken water pipes.

Although there are plans to relocate the headquarters, Moses Lwokyaza, the deputy speaker, said the renovations were necessary to add value to the property.

He explained that the premises could serve as a source of local revenue by renting out space or the entire facility.

“This will imply that the value of our property will increase, and even if we want sh1m per office, it will be possible that is why we resolved to allocate funds for this cause,” Lwokyaza said.

Meanwhile, the Jinja resident district commissioner, Ahmed Musaazi Kateregga, appealed to the contractor to ensure quality work to guarantee value for money.

“I will keep monitoring this project and keep an eye on the ground by ensuring value for money,” he said.