Government has defended changes to the design of the Amodo bridge project in West Nile, saying unusual flooding and rising water levels forced the Ministry of Works and Transport to revise the original plans.
The minister of state for Works, Siraji Ali, told MPs on the Government Assurance Committee that the weather conditions had become unusually severe, affecting the implementation of the bridge project.
The committee, chaired by its deputy chairperson, Anna Adeke Ebaju, Soroti Municipality MP, was examining the progress of government infrastructure projects.
“We appreciate that the weather patterns were unprecedented because Lake Victoria became full, leading to flooding of Lake Kyoga and the River Nile. Therefore, the ministry realised that it could not go ahead with the previous designs,” Ali said.
He said the ministry had to reconsider the designs to ensure the bridge could withstand the changing water levels and flooding conditions.
Ali also attributed the slow progress of some bridge projects to delays in releasing funds by the Ministry of Finance.
He said the partial release of funds had affected the payment of local contractors who had been hired following a presidential directive to give more work to Ugandan companies.
According to Ali, delayed payments had affected contractors’ ability to maintain steady progress on the projects.
He also told MPs that contractors were facing increased operating costs, including higher fuel prices, which he linked to the international tensions surrounding the Israel-US-Iran conflict.
Ali said the government was discussing the fuel challenge with the Uganda National Oil Company and would prioritise local contractors in the supply of fuel.
He added that the government had increased its fuel reserves at Jinja to help manage possible shortages.
On land acquisition, Ali said delays in compensating project-affected people were another challenge affecting the timely completion of infrastructure projects.
He said Uganda’s system of private land ownership made the acquisition of land for public projects more complicated than in countries where much of the land is owned by the state.
“If Uganda had a Tanzanian tenure system where land is owned by government, unlike the case in Uganda where land is privately owned, delays in completion of bridge works would be history,” Ali said.
The minister was responding to concerns raised by MPs on the committee over delays in the implementation of roads and bridge projects.
Jovia Katusiime, the MP for Kiryandongo, asked the government to implement President Yoweri Museveni’s directive for the construction of a ferry and tarmacking of the Katurikire-Mutunda road.
She said the road was important in easing traffic pressure around the Karuma Bridge.
Martin Drito, the MP for Madi-Okollo, questioned the delays in paying contractors despite government releasing funds for the projects.
He also asked the ministry to explain what it was doing to address challenges surrounding land acquisition.
Esther Acom, the Serere Woman MP, said inadequate supervision was affecting the implementation of some projects.
She urged the ministry to consider hiring independent consultants to strengthen supervision and ensure that projects are implemented according to approved standards and timelines.
Berunado Ssebugga Kimeze, the Budyebo MP, urged officials from the Ministry of Works and Transport to provide accurate information when appearing before Parliament.
He said MPs needed reliable information to help them perform their oversight, budget allocation and appropriation roles.
Kimeze also questioned why some projects were progressing slowly at the implementation stage despite government having released funds.
At the end of the meeting, committee deputy chairperson Adeke said the committee would write to the ministry seeking specific information on the project.
