Sh2b for road builders withheld
Jan 07, 2009
THE National Roads Authority has withheld sh2b for two construction companies, which were hired to do repair works on the Kampala-Jinja highyway. The authority said the companies did substandard work.
By Joel Ogwang
THE National Roads Authority has withheld sh2b for two construction companies, which were hired to do repair works on the Kampala-Jinja highyway. The authority said the companies did substandard work.
The two companies, Multiplex and Omega Ltd. were in 2007 contracted to fix the 12 black-spots on the highway.
They were also to fill potholes, dig drainage channels and install zebra crossings, signposts and pedestrian pathways at Namanve, Namawojjolo, Mbalala, Namagunga, Kitigoma, Najjembe and Mabira.
The total contract amounted to sh7b.
Initially, the works, jointly funded by the World Bank and the Government, were to end in June 2008.
“Not even an extension to December 2008 has seen the road finished,†said the authority’s spokesman, Dan Alinange.
He said the final layer of tarmac was not properly done at Namagunga, Bulyantete, Namanve and Seeta.
The two firms have been ordered to re-do the works, Alinange said, adding that the tax-payer would not meet the burden of the extra work.
“By contract, the authority does not approve shoddy work. The contractors will bear the burden of the extra work,†he said.
Alinange said sh5b had been paid for the 60% of the work well done.
“Any contractor, local or international, who engages in shoddy work, will have to re-do the tasks at hand before payment,†he warned.
An official of Multiplex, who preferred anonymity, said the November 2007 CHOGM meeting caused the delay.
“We were hired to work on some Kampala roads. It wasn’t easy doing the two tasks concurrently,†he said.
Eridad Kansiime, the project manager, said the firm was the lead contractor in the joint venture.
He said the works would have been finished in December, but they were given a defect liability period to rectify defects.
“We have done what we were contracted to do, but I will ask our engineers if there are any residual things to sort out,†he said.
THE National Roads Authority has withheld sh2b for two construction companies, which were hired to do repair works on the Kampala-Jinja highyway. The authority said the companies did substandard work.
The two companies, Multiplex and Omega Ltd. were in 2007 contracted to fix the 12 black-spots on the highway.
They were also to fill potholes, dig drainage channels and install zebra crossings, signposts and pedestrian pathways at Namanve, Namawojjolo, Mbalala, Namagunga, Kitigoma, Najjembe and Mabira.
The total contract amounted to sh7b.
Initially, the works, jointly funded by the World Bank and the Government, were to end in June 2008.
“Not even an extension to December 2008 has seen the road finished,†said the authority’s spokesman, Dan Alinange.
He said the final layer of tarmac was not properly done at Namagunga, Bulyantete, Namanve and Seeta.
The two firms have been ordered to re-do the works, Alinange said, adding that the tax-payer would not meet the burden of the extra work.
“By contract, the authority does not approve shoddy work. The contractors will bear the burden of the extra work,†he said.
Alinange said sh5b had been paid for the 60% of the work well done.
“Any contractor, local or international, who engages in shoddy work, will have to re-do the tasks at hand before payment,†he warned.
An official of Multiplex, who preferred anonymity, said the November 2007 CHOGM meeting caused the delay.
“We were hired to work on some Kampala roads. It wasn’t easy doing the two tasks concurrently,†he said.
Eridad Kansiime, the project manager, said the firm was the lead contractor in the joint venture.
He said the works would have been finished in December, but they were given a defect liability period to rectify defects.
“We have done what we were contracted to do, but I will ask our engineers if there are any residual things to sort out,†he said.