District engineer, contractor arrested over Shs624m substandard market

Kyegegwa district engineer Richard Baluku and Mr Hamza Mutebi of Deha Investments Limited are detained in connection to the construction of a substandard Katente market worth Shs624 million.
They were arrested on Thursday on orders of the deputy Inspector General of Government, Dr Patricia Achan Okiria.

The market in Kyegegwa town council was funded by the World Bank under the Development Response to Displacement Impact Projects (DRDIP) from the office of the Prime Minister.

“We received numerous complaints from community members and district leaders regarding the ongoing construction of the market. Is this a market Mr Contractor? Is there value for money invested in this project? I am not satisfied, and I am ordering the arrest of both of you," Dr Okiria said during her inspection of the market on Thursday.

They were taken to Kyegegwa police central station where Ms Okiria directed investigations into the case, saying her actions were prompted by numerous complaints from the community and district leaders regarding the ongoing construction of the market.

Dr Okiria announced that she would dispatch a team for a special inquest and a value-for-money audit to assess whether the work done aligns with the funds allocated for the project saying once the investigations are complete, the suspects will face prosecution.

The market, nearing completion, consists of 16 rock-up rooms, shade and stalls. However, vendors have reported issues such as water leakage during rains, prompting them to withhold occupation until the defects are rectified.

Dr Okiria slammed the district leaders for their failure to supervise the contractor and questioned the decision to continue payments up to 85 percent despite the apparent lack of value for money.

Before his arrest, Mr Mutebi explained that a significant portion of the funds was used to level the hilly ground before beginning the actual construction and said workers are expected to rectify all defects before handing over the completed market to the district authorities. 

During her impromptu visit to Kyegegwa General Hospital, Dr Okiria grilled health workers at the facility following complaints from patients about alleged extortion, particularly in the maternity ward.

"When we visited Kyegegwa district with my team, we received numerous complaints from patients who claimed they were being charged for services that should be provided free of charge. We engaged the health workers, cautioning them about the allegations. The hospital's budget for drugs has increased from Shs19 million to Shs30 million per month, despite having an adequate supply of drugs in stock, patients are still being charged," she expressed.

Additionally, the deputy IGG scrutinized the Shs1.9 billion road network construction spanning 40 kilometers from Nabingoola in Mubende to Kakaabara in Kyegegwa and wondered why the contractor PEKASA was paid money when the road was incomplete.

She recommended that PEKASA rectifies defects on the road, emphasizing that despite payments, insufficient work had been done saying that some spots were impassable and improper installation of cults were identified.