Street solar lights vandalised

KAMPALA.

Unknown people have started vandalising street solar lights in Kampala City barely a year after their installation.
Daily Monitor visited Mukwano Road and found out that the solar lights have been vandalised, leaving Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) counting losses.
The vandalised solar lights have left the road in the dark again.
Reliable sources told this newspaper that thugs steal bulbs and sell them cheaply downtown, Kampala.
Ms Juliet Bukirwa Muwanguzi, the KCCA acting public and corporate affairs manager, confirmed the development.
She said the contractor, Zhenjiang Holley International, should take responsibility.
“It is true the newly installed solar lights such as those on Mukwano Road are being vandalised by unknown people. However, the project hasn’t been handed over to us because the installation in the city is still ongoing and this means that the contracted company will still foot the bills to replace the stolen lights,” Ms Bukirwa said.
She said KCCA plans to light up the entire city using solar lights because they are more durable and sustainable compared to LED bulbs that are deemed expensive.
The contract to install city street solar lights was awarded to Zhenjiang Holley International, a Chinese company, after the cancellation of Phillips East Africa Ltd’s contract in June last year over performance.
The Shs7b project will see at least 906 street solar lights installed in the Central Business District (CBD) and the other four divisions of the city: Makindye, Rubaga, Nakawa and Kawempe.
She said the solar poles will also be fitted with CCTV cameras to mitigate crime in the city.
Daily Monitor understands that KCCA is currently racing against time to complete the stalled installation of street solar lights whose funding from government was released in 2015 ahead of the Pope’s visit to Uganda.
The vandalised solar lights pose a threat to the security of city residents and motorists, especially at night.
An official from Zhenjiang Holley International, who declined to be named because he isn’t authorised to speak to the press, said although they anticipated to handover the project to KCCA in the next two years, the project could stall if more vandals continue.

Extra cost
He is also worried that the vandalised solar lights could cost them extra money, which isn’t in their budget.
“We want to do a decent job and KCCA contracted us because of our quality services. However, the vandalised solar lights threaten the progress of the whole exercise yet we really want to deliver on time. However, we have beefed up security in the hot spots to curb down such vandals,” he said.
The installation is being done in line with the newly constructed city roads under the Kampala Infrastructural Institutional Project (KIIDP-2), a five-year project funded by the World Bank.
Dr Steven Jeremy Ntambi, the KCCA operations manager in the directorate of engineering and technical services, told Daily Monitor recently that the installed solar lights have a capacity to light a distance of 30 metres.
“We are currently at the installation stage and after that, we shall go to the testing stage and finish up with the commissioning stage. Although some are already lit, we haven’t officially commissioned them,” he said.
He noted that when charged, the new street solar panels have the capacity to provide light for three days.
However, he said one of their challenges is the developers, who build in road reserves where the solar lights are supposed to be installed.

Installed lights
While inspecting the ongoing works of the project recently, KCCA executive director, Ms Jennifer Musisi, expressed shock that some landlords have illegally used up the spaces meant for the installation of the street solar lights.
“I would like to caution city landlords against creating parking spaces on pavements because it’s where we install poles for solar lights, and also used by pedestrians. We shall not hesitate to prosecute any landlord, who blocks this exercises because we want to have it completed,” Ms Musisi said.
Some of the roads with installed street solar lights include: Bombo, Kyagwe, Kampala, Speak, the Constitution Square, Nakasero, Lumumba Avenue, Kintu and parts of Makerere Hill.