Buvuma State lodge construction delayed over Covid-19 pandemic 

The new State lodge at  Kitamiiro Village in Buvuma Town Council, Buvuma District which is under construction. PHOTO BY DENIS SSEBWAMI 

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The Buvuma District chairperson, Mr Alex Mabiriizi, said the delayed completion of the new  State lodge has denied the district a chance to host the president as he canvasses for votes ahead of  next year’s general elections.

The construction works of a State lodge in Buvuma Islands have stalled, something being blamed on Covid-19 pandemic.
The Shs 300m State lodge which sits on an eight acre piece of land at Kitamiiro Village, Buvuma Town Council was expected to be completed by March this  year.
 Ms Lucy Nakyobe, the State House comptroller, says due to the virus lockdown, they were unable to complete the project as planned.

“Our team could not travel to the island to supervise the construction works because of the Covid-19 pandemic but we will start from where we stopped as soon as the situation normalises,” Ms Nakyobe told this reporter in a telephone interview.

President Museveni has always been accessing Buvuma Island using a helicopter, and there was hope that having a State lodge in the island would enable him stay in the area for some days and listen to challenges affecting islanders.

The first State lodge in Buvuma was constructed in the 1970s by former president, the late Idi Amin Dada and the building currently houses the central police station.
The Buvuma District chairperson, Mr Alex Mabiriizi, said the delayed completion of the new  State lodge has denied the district a chance to host the president as he canvasses for votes ahead of  next year’s general elections.
“We are facing a myriad of challenges as a district and we had hoped that the President would start using the State lodge this year as he looks for votes,” he said.

He urged State House to do its best and complete the State lodge, insisting that construction projects are among the least affected during the current Covid-19 situation.

“We have seen work progressing at many construction sites under the current situation and we believe that this project [State lodge ] can also be fast-tracked,” Mr Mabirizi added .