By Sophan Niwamanya
apearlnews.com
Multiplex Company has been given a three-month ultimatum to complete the road project in Kabale Municipality.
In 2021, the company was awarded a 21.7 billion shillings contract to tarmac the 0.76 kilometers (KM) Bwankosa road that connects Nyerere Avenue and Kabale shopping center, commonly known as Ki-college; the 0.34 KM Bushekwire road that connects Kabale shopping center to Kabale main road in the Central Division; and the 2.49 KM road that connects the Kabale Diocesan Headquarters to Katuna-Kabale-Mbarara High Way. The roads are being upgraded under the Uganda Support for Municipal Infrastructure Development (USMID) project.
Today, officials from the World Bank, the Ministry of Lands, Housing, and Urban Development, and municipal officials conducted impromptu supervision on the roads.
The work that was to be completed in 2022 has been extended three times. Emmanuel Byamugisha Sentaro, Kabale municipality mayor, accuses the contractor of being very unserious, saying that the contract, which was supposed to be completed in one year, is now in two years. Byamugisha says that instead of the contractor being in the final stages, they are now covering trenches and culverts.
He adds that the contractor is always absent but turns up during supervision. He says that the contract gives those procedures, meaning that the contractor should have completed the work in 100 days, and the contract will expire if the contractor fails to finish the work. He further revealed that these companies tarnish the government’s name by not fulfilling what they should have achieved.
Stephen Ajaru, the urban development specialist at the World Bank, revealed that he is confused about why the project, which has been well facilitated, has taken so long without completion.
Therefore, he warned the contractor to have finished all the work on these roads by August 3, 2023, saying that the time they have given them is enough. He added that by August 3rd, if the project is not yet complete, they will have no business at the sites. He adds that another challenge for the contractor is his failure to take advice.
Richard Kyobe, the project manager at Multiplex, says that they are working hard to ensure that the work is completed soon. He says that they are being disturbed by stone quarries, whereas NEMA always wants a certificate to allow them to carry out quarrying.
Multiplex Construction Company Limited is working on similar projects in Ntungamo municipality and Mbarara city at a cost of 54 billion shillings. However, in Mbarara, The company is also being accused of delaying the completion of road works.
