New Supreme Court building to cost sh303b

By Umaru Kashaka

The housing project for Justice Law and Order Sector (JLOS) at the Naguru Police Barracks will cost $120m (about sh303b), the undersecretary in the ministry of justice and constitutional affairs, Ernest Bafaki has said.

He said this while presenting his financial year budget for 2014/15 to the legal and parliamentary affairs committee of parliament together with the justice state minister Fred Ruhindi.

The project will house the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal; Uganda Police Force, Uganda Prison Service, Directorate of Public Prosecutions and Judicial Service Commission, among others.

Bafaki said the project will go a long way in solving the current institutional challenges of accommodation and is also expected to save over $7m (about sh17b) that the sector is now paying in rent per financial year.

“It will also greatly improve service delivery as a one stop center for justice delivery,” Bafaki told the committee chaired by the Kajara County MP Stephen Tashobya.

He said sh10b in the coming year’s budget has been set aside for the House’s construction, leaving a shortfall of $110m.

Ruhindi said in February 2014, the finance ministry allowed them to start the procurement process for the construction of the complex using the public-private partnership modality and that repayment shall be from rent allocation to sector institutions.

“We have set up a multi-institutional transaction advisory committee to prepare the necessary documentation for the procurement of the private investor,’ he said.

The committee re-iterated its recommendation that the various agencies of government currently renting office space should liaise with Uganda Land Commission and secure land, develop bankable projects and access credit to construct their own office premises.

“This will not only save Government substantial sums of money but also add to the assets of Government,” they said.

Police are renting offices at the Parliamentary Avenue where their headquarters are and the Directorate of Public Prosecutions rents space at Workers’ House.

The JLOS was established by the government to bring together institutions in the criminal justice system to develop a common vision, policy framework, have general objectives and plan over a short period of time.