Bamugemereire rejects 'a meal' from contractor

By Pascal Kwesiga  
                        
The chairperson of the commission of inquiry into corruption allegations in Uganda National Roads Authority, Justice Catherine Bamugemereire, has rejected an offer for a meal from a civil contractor.

Officials from Energo, a Serbian company repairing sections of Kampala-Gulu highway and their supervisors from Aurecon, a South African company, made an offer for 'a cup and meals' to Bamugemereirere and commissioners on Friday.

"No. I don't take free meals," Justice Bamugemereire told the contractors during an inspection trip to the sections of the over 300km road undergoing repair.

Sections between Kawempe, a Kampala suburb, and Luweero and Luweero to Kafu Bridge have undergone repairs since 2007.

Currently, Energo, a Serbian civil engineering and construction company, is undertaking another phase of rehabilitation along the Kawempe-Luwero section.

Similar repairs will be done along the Luwero-Kafu bridge section soon to replace the tarmac which has fallen apart and seal the potholes.

The commission has queried a decision by UNRA to disregard the advice of the Auditor General in 2008/09 financial year to overhaul the entire road instead of undertaking piecemeal repairs.

"We have questioned the decision of having an overlay of asphalt layer in some sections and only gravel layers in other sections instead of reconstructing the road," Bamugemereire said, "I don't know how that decision was taken, but I think a reconstruction would save some money,"

The tarmac on parts of the road, she noted, has fallen apart, with gaping potholes on some sections which would have been avoided if the entire highway had been rebuilt. A section between Kiryandongo town and Karuma Bridge is being reconstructed.

She also observed that some sections repaired in 2011 are in a bad state while other parts of the road are disintegrating before the contractor completes rehabilitation works.

Officials from Aurecon attributed the damages on the road to the spike in traffic volumes and 'severe' overloading.

The Gulu-Kampala forms part of the corridor connecting the city to the north, West Nile, South Sudan and parts of eastern DRC.

The Energo managing director, Milisavijevi Micha, said they proposed a reconstruction of the highway to UNRA, but the roads authority could not foot the bill.

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