Parliament wants Makerere boss to explain collapsed perimeter wall

May 06, 2009

THE public accounts committee has asked Makerere University deputy vice-chancellor David Bakibinga to explain the collapse of a perimeter wall that had just been constructed in 2007.

By Mary Karugaba
and Milton Olupot

THE public accounts committee has asked Makerere University deputy vice-chancellor David Bakibinga to explain the collapse of a perimeter wall that had just been constructed in 2007. Bakibinga allegedly supervised the project.

The committee declined to discuss other issues with the university secretary, Sam Akorimo, saying they needed answers from Bakibinga.
“How are we going to handle the matter when the person responsible is absent? We need him first. This is a serious matter.
We want him to explain how a newly-constructed wall could collapse within months,” the chairman, Nandala Mafabi, said.

Akorimo could not explain why Bakibinga did not appear.

The committee had convened to discuss the Auditor General’s report for 2007, which highlighted a number of issues on the university.

According to the university management, the constructed length of the wall was 694 meters. About 133 metres (20%) of it was damaged.

Engineering reports and site inspection indicated that the procurement process was not conducted according to agreed procedures.

The Auditor General noted that the contracts committee was not consulted.

“The sourcing of service providers appears to have been a private affair in complete contravention of the public procurement Act,” David Muwanga said.

The report also noted that vouchers together with cheque details revealed that sh160m was spent on the construction, instead of sh126m which had been authorised.

“The extra amount of sh34m was apparently diverted from the budget for maintenance of university houses and roads. The authority for diversion of the funds from one item to another was not provided,” the report stated.

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