Concern as works at Elegu border health centre stall
Amuru District leaders inspect the site of the proposed Elegu Health Centre III in Elegu Town Council at the weekend. PHOTO | SIMON WOKORACH
What you need to know:
- The facility was meant to house a screening laboratory for travellers entering and exiting Uganda against Covid-19.
- In an interview last week, Mr Michael Lakony, the district chairperson, said attempts to trace the contractor have been futile.
Amuru District authorities have accused the contractor of abandoning the construction of Elegu Health Centre III two months after starting works.
The construction of the health centre was approved by the central government in 2020 to help in the treatment and management of Covid-19 patients at the border.
In October 2020, the Health ministry awarded the contract to Model House Engineering Limited, a Chinese firm, to build the facility at a cost of Shs1 billion.
The facility was meant to house a screening laboratory for travellers entering and exiting Uganda against Covid-19.
Other services include a waiting centre for persons undergoing tests as well as an accommodation unit for staff.
However, since February this year, the contractor has not been seen at the site and works have stalled.
In an interview last week, Mr Michael Lakony, the district chairperson, said attempts to trace the contractor have been futile.
“We handed the site to build the facility to the contractor in December 2020 but in February, the company abandoned the site without any report or incident and we have not got any feedback from the ministry over that,” Mr Lakony said.
“We tried in vain to trace them and the unfortunate bit is that the district does not have any document for the project design and implementation, we don’t know the bill of quantity and total cost of the project to help us follow up,” he added.
According to the contract signed between the Ministry of Health and the company in October last year, works were meant to be completed in December.
Amuru District gave out three hectares of land to the Ministry of Health for the establishment of the facility.
When this newspaper visited the site last week, the foundation of the outpatient department (OPD) unit was what the contractor had put up.
Mr John Kovuki, the Elego Town Council chairperson, blamed the Ministry of Health for not coordinating with the local government in implementing the project.
“I only learnt about the construction firm exiting the place when we saw them parking off. If the ministry had engaged us, we would have supervised the process,” Mr Kovuki said.
Mr Geoffrey Osborn Ocheng, the resident district commissioner, said they have written to the Ministry of Health, requesting for the project documents to enable the district to follow up.
Repeated attempts to get a comment from Model House Engineering Limited were futile by press time since all their telephone numbers went unanswered. But Mr George Otim, a commissioner at the Health ministry who is supervising the project, explained during a telephone interview that the company did not abandon works at the site but suspended operations due to technical challenges.
He explained that the company is completing the fabrication of the building materials from the factory and will soon resume work on the site.
“The whole construction takes place from the factory and when he is done with the foundation, then he has to go to a factory to complete the building, which will then be lifted and assembled on the site,” Mr Otim said.
He revealed that the same company was awarded contracts to build similar facilities at Malaba and Busia border points as well as at Namboole and Entebbe at a total cost of Shs8 billion.
“There is another one at Malaba, which is almost at the finishing stages, after that, he should be able to move to the Elegu border to resume work,” he further explained.
