News
Uproar over sh95m kitchen at Kasese school
Barugahara questioned District Engineer Ronald Baluku on how he had allowed the construction of a facility that did not offer value for money.
The sh95m kitchen at Hamukungu Secondary School in Lake Katwe Sub-county, Kasese District. (Credit: Moses Mulondo)
By: Lawrence Mulondo, Journalist @New Vision
KASESE - Residents of Katwe sub-county in Kasese district have protested the construction of a kitchen and store valued at sh95m at Hamukungu Secondary School, citing shoddy work and lack of value for money.
The residents raised the matter while leading the Minister of State for Local Government, Balaam Barugahara, during his supervision of government projects in Kasese District.
The minister is in Kasese to investigate alleged corruption in government service delivery under his anti-corruption drive dubbed 'Expose the Corrupt.'
According to the minister, officials constructed only one unit to serve as both a store and a kitchen. After learning that he was visiting the district, they hurriedly constructed the kitchen part of the project in just two weeks.
Barugahara questioned District Engineer Ronald Baluku on how he had allowed the construction of a facility that did not offer value for money.
Baluku told the minister that the project was not under his docket but was implemented under the Local Climate Adaptive Living (LoCAL) project managed by Augustine Kooli.
The minister demanded accountability for the entire project funds and directed both Baluku and Kooli to record statements with the State House Anti-Corruption Unit and police.
Barugahara questioned District Engineer Ronald Baluku on how he had allowed the construction of a facility that did not offer value for money.
Baluku told the minister that the project was not under his docket but was implemented under the Local Climate Adaptive Living (LoCAL) project managed by Augustine Kooli.
Sh46m teachers' quarters at Hamukungu Secondary School in Lake Katwe Sub-county, Kasese District. (Credit: Lawrence Mulondo)
The minister demanded accountability for the entire project funds and directed both Baluku and Kooli to record statements with the State House Anti-Corruption Unit and police.
In a related incident, residents showed the minister a two-unit block under construction, said to be teachers' houses.
The project, funded by the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), saw Kasese District Local Government receive sh46m for its construction.
Residents alleged that about sh26m of the funds had been mismanaged.
"This looks like a chicken house. I doubt it will be worth the money appropriated for it, as the walls already have cracks and the rooms are very narrow," a resident said.
The residents also reported that the roads to their area were last worked on five years ago and that this is making accessibility to their area difficult.
The project, funded by the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), saw Kasese District Local Government receive sh46m for its construction.
Residents alleged that about sh26m of the funds had been mismanaged.
"This looks like a chicken house. I doubt it will be worth the money appropriated for it, as the walls already have cracks and the rooms are very narrow," a resident said.
The residents also reported that the roads to their area were last worked on five years ago and that this is making accessibility to their area difficult.