Inside the Shs24b Isimba dam bridge row

Controversy. An aerial view of Isimba Dam. While the Speaker Rebecca Kadaga says Shs24b for the dam bridge was embezzled, Energy minister Irene Muloni has dismissed the claims. Courtesy Photo

What you need to know:

  • Troubled waters. Speaker Rebecca Kadaga stirred the troubled waters when she alleged that officials in the Energy ministry had pilfered Shs24b meant for construction of a public bridge atop the recently commissioned 183MW Isimba Dam in Kayunga District. While Ms Kadaga did not disclose names of the suspects, which she shared with President Museveni in March, the matter has touched off a firestorm.

Last year, the chairperson of the Karuma/Isimba dam projects steering committee, Mr Badru Kiggundu, lodged a complaint with the just-concluded Justice Catherine Bamugemereire-led land probe about a group of Project Affected Persons (PAPs) in Nakatooke Village, Kayunga District, seeking compensation for rocks on their land.
The PAPs; Richard Oyana, Isaac Dramuke, Disson Nsubuga, John Wafula, Adriano Owori Okuni, Okuni, Cellina Etapu, Ali Kagoda, Achieng Rose, Berenado Ssajjabi, Bonifansio Obbo, and John Apogo, in a June 26, 2017 letter to the ministry of Energy, through their lawyers Katongole and Company Advocates, sought Shs95.9b as compensation for the rock.
Two months later, in another correspondence, the figure was revised upwards to Shs100b. The unparalleled value was on account that the land contained sand and rocks which they mined for livelihood before it was taken over by government for the project earlier in 2014.
In March last year, the PAPs through their new lawyers Kampala Associated Advocates, sent another demand notice to the ministry, this time the claim for the same land was estimated at Shs132b.
Following Justice Andrew Byabashaija’s ruling early this year in the case of Etot Paul and eight others Vs Attorney General and Sino Hydro Corporation Ltd relating to a compensation row at Karuma dam site in Oyam District, in which the plaintiffs were awarded Shs10.5b, the PAPs also threw the spanner in the works with another legal manoeuvre.
The Speaker of Parliament, Ms Rebecca Kadaga, told Parliament last Wednesday that the PAPs hastily secured an injunction from a registrar at Mukono High Court, to block the bank accounts of the Isimba dam contractor, China International Water & Electric Corporation (CWE).
“I want government to establish who was behind these fictitious cases against China [International] Water & Electric Corporation and the Attorney General in the suit of 383 of 2019,” Ms Kadaga demanded. “They went to court and on February 19, the registrar hurriedly issued orders ex parte, that no one should withdraw/transfer money from dollar/shilling accounts in Stanbic Bank.”
The Speaker revealed that after CWE raised the matter as detrimental to the completion of the dam, she sought the intervention of the Attorney General “on a weekend so that an application can be filed” the following Monday to set aside the injunction for the contractor to resume work.”
The 183megawatts (MW) Isimba dam, downstream of Simba Falls on River Nile, between Busaana Sub-county and Bugumira Village in Kayunga and Kamuli districts, respectively. The dam commissioned in March, is one of the government’s energy lofty dreams to light every pocket of the country and spur an industrial revolution.
CWE, was awarded the $567.7m (Shs2 trillion) Isimba dam construction tender as a recompense, after it was edged out by Sinohydro Corporation Limited on the $1.7b (Shs6.2trillion) tender for construction of the 600MW Karuma tender, following a protracted procurement tainted by allegations of corruption and bribery.
According to the Energy ministry, the Isimba dam Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) tender included two components; the electricity generating plant, and its associated transmission line. The tender also provided for construction of a public access bridge connecting Kayunga and Kamuli, and access roads to the project site.
The EPC contract specifically provided: “An access bridge shall be provided across the intake structure suitable for adoption as a 2-lane highway seperate from operating gantries, hoists, openings and other equipment and facilities associated with the operation and maintenance of the intake.”
The contract provided that “the public road would be constructed on-top of the dam.”
During the House plenary on November 13, when the matter was first raised, Ms Kadaga claimed that money, about Shs24b, meant for the public road/bridge was stolen by a group of officials in the Energy ministry.
“There was an attempt to force the top managers of CWE to leave the country, even before the dam is completed,” Ms Kadaga said. “That is how they came to me; they were being threatened and told, you must leave the country.”
While Ms Kadaga did not disclose the names of the suspects, which she shared with President Museveni back in March, the matter has kicked up a firestorm and was discussed in Cabinet last Monday.
Following the Cabinet briefing by Energy technocrats, Energy minister Irene Muloni on Tuesday while addressing journalists dismissed claims that the Shs24b meant for the access road/bridge had been embezzled.
“If you have a case or any issue, the government has all institutions that can actually check out all those issues. Once you have information about something, you know where to report,” Ms Muloni said in a veiled salvo at the Speaker.

Where did the money go?
A visit to the Isimba site last week, and multiple documents seen by Daily Monitor, revealed that CWE constructed a bridge, as stipulated in the EPC contract, but it was deemed unsatisfactory and was rejected.
The constructed one lane road/bridge atop the dam grids within the plant facility, which both Energy and Uganda Electricity Generation Company (UEGCL) officials said were jittery about on precautionary grounds, and tasked the contractor to embark on a new one.
Also, the existing road/bridge meant to connect Kayunga and Kamuli districts had not been supervised by the Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra).
The documents indicate that in November 2016 when CWE submitted to the owner’s engineer—consultants hired to ensure the contractor adheres to technical and project specifications—Artelia EAU Environment and Kkatt Consult Ltd, the layout for the bridge they were asked to get approval from Unra.
CWE, again in January 2017, submitted documents relating to the bridge/road but was directed by the owners’ engineer to seek Unra’s approval.
“The EPC contractor did not heed to the owners engineers to have the design and drawings of the access road/bridge row approved by Unra. Instead, the contractor submitted designs and drawings for approval by Unra retrospectively when construction was in advanced stages,” reads in part a brief prepared for last Monday’s Cabinet meeting.”
The brief notes: “The contractor therefore did not comply with the contract in respect to the approval process of the design and drawings of the access bridge. When Unra received and reviewed the designs in August 2017, it was noted that the designs as provided did not meet clearance to be used as a public road. The dam top road was therefore rejected.”

Safety issue
A September 2017 dam safety panel of experts report provided further insight on the bridge/road atop the dam. Among issues of concern were vandalism, security, terrorism, and possible collusion between traffic and the dam’s operation and maintenance activities.
After haggling, CWE started work on a new public road/bridge outside the dam’s zonal area but within scope of the original EPC tender price of Shs2 trillion. Works on the new bride started this August, company officials said last week, and is expected to be complete by December next year; Unra is on ground as the project supervisor.
Earlier on in July 2019, the ministry of Energy signed a Memorandum of Understanding with UEGCL, the dam administrators, and Unra, designating the roads authority as the implementing agency for the public road bridge.
According to Unra, physical project works by the end of last month was at 20 percent. The estimated cost of the new bridge is Shs128b, according to the contractor.
Available documents seen by this newspaper also show that all CWE’s payments are directly processed by the Chinese government’s Exim Bank to the contractor’s bank account in China. Payments are effected after approval of all work certificates by the owners’ engineer and UEGCL.
The Accountant General, Mr Lawrence Semakula, is responsible for issuing notice to Exim Bank to effect payment to the contractor’s account for work done once the certificates have been validated.

CIID weighs in
No proof yet. However, while Ms Kadaga’s claims on embezzlement of the Shs24b are not yet proven, the Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID) and Auditor General John Muwanga, have over the last months been conducting criminal investigations and forensic audit, respectively, relating to management of both Isimba and Karuma dam projects.

This newspaper understands that several staff have recorded statements over the last months.

Probe.The CIID spokesperson, Mr Charles Twine, confirmed the probe and further hinted that they received instructions to work with the Director of Public Prosecutions to enforce criminal sanctions against whoever will be found culpable.

“There was allegations that some money was being misused,” Mr Twine said at the weekend by telephone. “A draft report for the investigation is ready, and we are now working on the final report.”
While Daily Monitor could not immediately establish the breadth of the latest investigation, Mr Muwanga in his annual audit report issued early this year raised red flag on the exorbitant outstanding compensation claims on the two dam projects, amounting to Shs600b.

Sources familiar with some of the claims intimated that some high-ranking government officials are behind the PAPs pushing for some of the exorbitant claims.
Out of the Shs600b, Shs380b are the claims on Isimba, and roughly Shs11b are claims on Karuma.

“The eventual determination of the cases and/or payment could significantly constrain the financial resources of ministry of Energy,” the audit warned.

The cases on Isimba include Muwumba stone works at Mukono High Court, seeking Shs18.3b: Ruth Ssebaduka and Charles Matovu versus 11 others including the Attorney General seeking Shs25b.

Initially, at least Shs44b was the bill for payment of projected affected persons on Isimba.

The cases on the Karuma project include Etot Paul Peter and eight others versus Attorney General seeking Shs10.5b, before the Court of Appeal: and Brian Mugyenyi seeking Shs226 million before the Masindi High Court.

There are two other claims of $33m (Shs120b), and $800,000 (Shs2.9b) by two tourist companies—Hairy Lemon Uganda and Adrift East Africa Limited respectively—for loss of future business at the site where Isimba dam was constructed.

Article 237, section (1) states that: “Land in Uganda belongs to the citizens of Uganda and shall vest in them in accordance with the land tenure systems provided for in this Constitution.”