Contractor on the spot over missing street light batteries
A solar street light which was knocked down by a motorist on Yellowknife Road in Masaka City. Masaka City Council councillors have called for the arrest of the proprietors of a firm which allegedly stole batteries from the solar street lights in the city. PHOTO | WILSON KUTAMBA
Masaka City Council councillors have called for the arrest of the proprietors of a firm which allegedly stole batteries from the solar street lights.
During a council meeting on September 29, the city mayor, Ms Florence Namayanja, said the firm, which she declined to name, was contracted to repair faulty street lights in the city but ended up stealing parts from the lights, leaving some streets in darkness.
The affected streets include Yellowknife Road, Edward Avenue, and part of Elgin Street.
The councillors have asked the city authorities to name the firm and tasked the the city town clerk, Mr Godfrey Bamanyisa, to open a case of theft against the firm at Masaka Central Police Station and have the proprietors arrested for causing a financial loss to the city.
“Whoever is responsible for this mess [of stealing solar lamp batteries] must be exposed and return the money to the city coffers,” Mr Rogers Buregeya, a youth councillor, said in an interview on October 21
The councillors added that the city has lost several properties under unclear circumstances. The properties include electric cables and hardcore stones for ongoing road construction works, among others.
Ms Zaharah Nalubyayi, the Kimaanya Ward councilor, said: “When solar lamps were installed, the electric lamps and poles were removed, but about 400 [electric lamps] together with the wires went missing, we want accountability.”
The affected roads, according to Ms Nalubyayi, include Masaka /Nyendo Road, (Broadway) Alexander Road, Hill Road, and Katwe Road.
Mr Tom Luyobya, the Nyendo Ward councillor, said the electric lamps were supposed to be kept at the council yard on Jathebia Street but a recent visit to the facility revealed that some are missing.
“Both the mayor and technical wing have records of which company was contracted to repair the solar lamps and those contracted to remove cables from the electric lights that were replaced. Let the works committee come up with a report that will guide the council on how we can proceed to have these items recovered and the council compensated for the loss because these parts are so expensive,” he said.
However, Mr Bamanyisa asked the councillors to furnish him with evidence to open up a police case.
“I am going to check the records I have in the office about that matter and work with the police to ensure that we reprimand those responsible. I request the whistleblowers [councillors] to also volunteer information because without information the file cannot go far,” he said.
The Masaka City speaker, Mr Tonny Ssempijja, said they have tasked the city works’ committee to compile a list of all the stolen council properties.
“We expect the committee report to be ready in two months to see how we can proceed on that issue of recovering the stolen items,” he said.
About the street lights
Each of the solar-powered lights, installed between 2015 and 2019, cost Sh12m and have a life span of between five and 10 years, according to Masaka City authorities.
In June, city dwellers complained that the rate at which the solar lights were breaking down may plunge the city into darkness.
On some streets, the solar lights go off suddenly while others were knocked down by motorists.
The solar lights are part of the ongoing multibillion Uganda Support to Municipal Infrastructure Development (USMID) programme funded by the World Bank.
The project also covers upgrading various roads and improving drainage systems in Masaka.
City authorities first installed electric lights on many major streets in the city but due to lack of money to pay monthly bills, the lights were rarely switched on.
The city authorities eventually removed all of them and installed solar-powered lights.
The solar-powered system was considered as the most efficient way to curb darkness in the streets without accumulating additional power bills.
By the time the solar lamps were installed, the city authorities were spending more than Shs200m on paying electricity bills for street lights annually which the new city could not afford.
