Construction of Shs213b Justice house set to start

The building is expected to house institutions such as the Justice ministry, Internal Affairs ministry, Uganda Registration Services Bureau, Uganda Human Rights Commission, Uganda Prisons, Judicial Service Commission, Uganda Law Reform Commission and the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

Others are the High Court, Tax Appeals Tribunal, Centre for Arbitration and Dispute Resolution and the police headquarters.
The Solicitor General, Mr Francis Atoke, last week signed off a consultancy contract with Mr Pius Muli, the group managing director of Symbion Uganda Ltd, a company that is to undertake the construction process.

“JLOS institutions are in parts of the city that are not easily accessible yet the mandate of these institutions are complementary and require close proximity for communication, cooperation and coordination,” Mr Atoke said.

“The rented premises occupied by JLOS institutions were not custom designed for the provision of its services. Their location in different places has resulted in decreased accessibility of services to the public, especially the poor and marginalised who often have difficulties in finding their way to the right institution,” he added.  

The Solicitor General said the JLOS house will save government a lot of money in rent annually.

“Currently, the sector is renting about 20,000 square meters at a cost of $6.8m (Shs24b). Besides the other qualitative benefits arising out of the construction, the project will save the government the continued hemorrhage of operational funds to rent,”  Mr Atoke said.
Mr Muli pledged to finish the project on time.

“We want to assure you that we take this project seriously. We shall give it all our best of the right quality and standard and budget.''

Mr Sam Wairagala, the deputy senior technical adviser at JLOS Secretariat, said the construction period is expected to last two years.
The delay to construct the facility   was mainly attributed to hurdles in procurement procedures.