By KT Reporter
China Communications Construction Company Limited (CCCC) has resumed roadworks under the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area Urban Development Programme (GKMA-UDP) despite the suspension by Mukono Municipality.
Mukono Municipality formally suspended all roadworks undertaken by CCCC on March 7 due to persistent non-compliance with contract obligations, technical standards, and environmental and social safeguards. However, the contractor adhered to the suspension for only one week. Over the weekend, part of the CCCC team was redeployed to the construction sites.
By the time of publishing this story, our efforts to get an explanation from Mukono Town Clerk, Francis Byabagambi, regarding the ongoing works had not yet succeeded. The municipal mayor, Erisa Mukasa Nkoyoyo, revealed that in a recent engagement, the contractor was given two weeks to rectify the technical irregularities before resuming work.
The irregularities cited in the suspension letter include inadequate safety measures, poor incident reporting—including concealing the death of a casual worker on-site—failure to ensure proper welfare for workers, and non-compliance with grievance redress mechanisms.
“The town clerk has better answers about the compliance of the contractor towards the suspension. The contractor’s representatives have been frequenting his office and therefore should explain how the contractor has returned to work. They chose to exonerate political leadership while handling this matter,” Nkoyoyo noted.
Nkoyoyo also expressed concern about the international contractor deploying machines such as wheel loaders without breaks or lights, employing non-technical staff to handle work requiring engineers, and, above all, concealing accidents happening at the site.
Robert Peter Kabanda, the Central Division Chairperson, revealed that he had received several complaints from workers who were falsely accused of stealing fuel from tractors and subsequently terminated at the time they were expecting payments for the work done.
The program communication specialist, Bernadette Ndema, earlier noted that the suspension would only be lifted after the contractor provided a satisfactory response on agreed actions to the joint team comprising the Municipal Council, supervising consultants, and the MoKCC&MA.
Julius Ssemakula, a resident of Mukono, appealed to the government through the office of the Inspector General of Government (IGG) to intervene and address the ongoing irregularities. “Something fishy is ongoing. There is a missing communication between the municipality and the Ministry of Kampala. But whatever the misunderstanding, let them ensure the roads are constructed, rather than fighting, which could likely force the funder to withdraw.” Ssemakula said.
The impacted projects include Anthony-Kame, Kame Annex, Albert Cook Cathedral Rise, Kame-Nabuti-Katosi Road, Admin Link, Access Road, and Link Road. The road construction contract, valued at UGX 46 billion, was to be completed within 18 months-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
