By KT Reporter
The Deputy Inspector General of Government (IG), Patricia Achan Okiria, has given the Kwania District Chairperson a two-day ultimatum to explain how the alleged diversion of funds meant for school development will be addressed.
Achan issued the directive on Wednesday while monitoring government projects in Kwania District, where there are allegations of mismanagement of funds allocated for the development of Aduku Seed Secondary School.
The district received over Shillings 2 billion under the Uganda Government Investment for Functional Teachers (UGIFT) funds for the financial years 2018/2019, 2019/2020, and 2020/2021, but several complaints of mismanagement have surfaced.
For example, Shillings 172 million was spent on purchasing a district vehicle, while Shillings 40 million was allocated to construct an access road within the school, which was not part of the contract. Additionally, a variation of Shillings 30.8 million was made for changing the roofing material from timber to steel.
Investigations revealed several instances of shoddy work, including cracks on the floor of the administration block and multipurpose hall, leaking roofs in some classrooms, and the sports field construction not meeting the required specifications, among other issues.
Using the alternative dispute resolution method, Achan recommended that the district chairperson write to the IG within two days, outlining his approach to resolving these issues.
Should the chairperson fail to respond, Achan warned that legal action would follow.
In his response, Kwania District Chairperson Geoffrey Ogwal Adyebo acknowledged the complaints and promised to write the letter. However, he claimed that the errors occurred under his predecessor’s administration.
In Alebtong District, the IG officials visited Abia and Anara HCIII, where complaints of shoddy work and contractor abandonment of the sites had been raised. In February 2021, Alebtong District Local Government entered into a contract agreement worth over 630 million Shillings with M/S Mesco Ltd to construct Abia HCIII following its upgrade from a Level II facility.
The construction was slated for completion within eight months; however, as of today, the project remains incomplete, and the contractor has disappeared, despite being paid in full. During her visit, Annet Twine, the Director of the IG Leadership Code of Conduct, gave the contractor until the end of March 2025 to finish the work and hand over the site or face arrest.
“If he does not finish this work and hand it over by the end of this month (March 2025), the IG will arrest him. Send that message to him. If not by March 30th, we will come with an arrest warrant,” she warned.
Alebtong District Chairperson David Kennedy Odongo explained that multiple attempts to get the contractor back on site had been unsuccessful. He also highlighted that the numerous hybrid contracts awarded to a single contractor had stretched their capacity, making supervision difficult.
The contract period for Abia HCIII was extended to June 30, 2023, with a defects liability period that ended on June 30, 2024-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
