Ssembabule residents reject sh700m tank

Ssembabule district leaders and residents have rejected a valley tank constructed  by the Government at a cost of sh700m.

The Valley tank was constructed by the Wankulukuku-based Ambitious Construction Company Ltd in Kampala funded by the Ministry of Water at Kagango village in Mijwala sub-county.

The Ssembabule district leaders led by the RDC, Henry Baguma refused to commission the valley tank citing shoddy work.

The Valley tank supposed to ho;d water for livestock during the dry season, has been abandoned by the community.

Its construction started in April and the technical hand over of the facility to the district had been set for November.

The RDC, Henry Baguma, told The New Vision that the Ministry of Water and the contractors did not allow the district authorities to participate in the planning and supervision process of the project.

The NewVision learnt that the Ministry of Water contracted Ambitious Company to rehabilitate the old valley tank, but the company preferred to construct the tank at another site. Efforts to reach Ambitious authorities were futile.

The Company Managing Director, Ramji Karsan Swaminarayan's phone was off.  He is said to be on official trip to India.   A source attached to the company said they complied with all the contract requirement set by the relevant consultants.

However, at the site seen by the New Vision, the rain water could not collect in the valley tank because it was constructed on a hill side and not the valley as required according to the deputy director under the Manifesto Implementation unit office of the President, Fred Kamugira.

"The problem is that tank was supposed to be constructed in the valley and not on a hilly site, water cannot collect here to serve the community," he observed.

Kamugira, who visited the valley tank on the request of the Ssembabule district leadership, supported the decision of the district authorities for rejecting the hand over ceremony of the useless facility.

He said the Ministry of Water wasted government resources.  A source from the Ssembabule water office told The New Vision that the Ministry of water and the contractors refused to listen to the priorities recommended for the facility.

"This mess is because the district technical team was ignored throughout and the approvals were done in Kampala. We are not accountable for the losses," the source that preferred anonymity said.

The source noted that the monthly site meetings were not conducted as required.
The local person selected to take care of the facility on behalf of the community Ben Lubega said the solar powered generator supposed to pump water from the valley tank also failed to function.

He said the pipes have also failed to access water in the valley tank because  rain water failed to collect in the facility during the rainy season.

Some of the community members from the neighboring villages complained that the facility was fensed off to benefit a few individuals.

The Ssembabule deputy DISO,Emmanuel Bagyenda, said the project consultants are also to blame over the shoddy works.
He said the 10m litres water tanks attached to the facility is irrelevant.

He said the water taps cannot provide clean water.  He said one of the project engineers from Kampala identified as Tabalo fled the site after the locals asked him to explain the mess.

The Ssembabule district Council Chairman, Dr Elly Muhumuza, expressed concern that the valley tanks constructed by the Water Ministry and the contractors at over sh500m are normally completed at sh70m under the district budget.

 "We suspect that the authorities in Kampala inflate the construct rates of the valley tanks, we complete the same works at sh70m," he said.

He said the valley tanks constructed under the Kisozi model villages by the office of the President, have benefited the communities because of the value of money principle set.