Top Energy officials suspended over shoddy Karuma works

President Yoweri Museveni has reportedly suspended three top officials in the ministry of Energy in relation to the alleged shoddy works at both Karuma and Isimba hydropower dam projects.

New Vision learnt that the officials suspended were in charge of overseeing the two projects on the government side. New Vision however, is yet to confirm the reports. 

The minister of energy early this week gave the firm building Karuma Power Dam one month to carry out tests on the cause of cracks on the spillway section of the dam.

SynoHydro Corporation, the Chinese firm building the dam has now suspended work on the spillway section of the dam where possible defects have been sighted. 

"They will come out with the repair statement and method for our approval detailing how they will deal with the crack, cracks are inevitable but we try to minimize them in construction," noted Irene Muloni, the energy minister. 

Irene Muloni and her junior minister Eng. Simon D'ujanga and the permanent secretary toured the dam over the weekend to establish for themselves the persistent reports of substandard work going on at Uganda's biggest power dam under construction. 

During the technical tour, there were four evident cracks on the dam's spill way walls that is supposed to hold and release the side water that passes through the power house.

Cracks on the spill way at the dam that have caused alarm on the quality of construction. Photo by Silvano Kibuuka

SMEC, the audit firm contracted by Uganda Electricity Generation Company (UEGCL) had also raised concerns about the 200m section support structures in the dam's underground tunnels. She asked the contractor to finish the support structures in a week's time. 

Because the dam is located around the greater Murchison conservation area where wildlife like hippos roam anytime, the power house is underground to avoid disturbing the wildlife because of the noisy gushing water.

Muloni demanded that the contractors and consultant work as a team and avoid causing friction over issues that can be resolved through coordination.

The 600MW Karuma Power Dam is located in Kiryandongo, Oyam and Nwoya districts in northern Uganda and is being constructed at a cost of $1.4b. The project is under the ministry of energy which contracted Energy Infratech to supervise the contractor.

But another audit firm SMEC that was hired to ensure compliance noted several defects even with the Isimba dam creating suspicion about the quality of work and casting doubt about the possible longevity of the dam.

Muloni noted that the consultants should engage technically when they identify defects "that is why I am going to take off time and clarify their roles because we want to end up with a world class project."

Energy Infratech have mostly dismissed the complaints as mistakes that are bound to happen but are correctable.

But Harrison Mutikanga, the boss of UETCL said if due process had been followed, the mistakes that are emerging now would have been averted.

"What they are going to do now, they should have done it two years ago, The supervisor (Energy Infratech) should have been supervising this work," noted Mutikanga adding that in some cases where they have noted defects in the spill way, repairs were done without agreeing on the methodology. 

Meanwhile, before visiting Karuma, Muloni visited Isimba and established that there were issues with the construction works underway.