Investors target 69,000 police, prisons houses 

The Ministry of Internal Affairs is expected to finalise the procurement process of private investors to undertake the construction of 69,000 housing units for the police, prisons and the Directorate of Immigration next month. 

The police director of logistics and engineering, Mr Richard Edyegu, said several private investors have expressed interest in the accommodation project.

“We will be able to beat the three-month deadline that the minister [for Internal Affairs, Maj Gen (Rtd) Kahinda Otafiire] gave us. In a month’s time, we shall have completed the proposals,” Mr Edyegu said. 

The Shs4.2 trillion accommodation project will be done under a public-private-partnership (PPP).

Last year, the Ministry of Internal Affairs floated a proposal to establish 69,000 housing units for the Uganda Police Force, Uganda Prisons Services and Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control through a PPP.

The three institutions are short of accommodation, forcing some of their personnel to share units where the living conditions are appalling. 

If the PPP project is executed, the police would take the largest share of 54,000 housing units, followed by prisons with around 10,000 units and the rest will house Immigration officers. 

Mr Edyegu said they have already received the express of interest from the private companies under the PPP and they have moved on to the next procurement process.

“The project would be done by several companies, not one. We are creating lots because it is so big,” Mr Edyegu said. 

He said they are done with the bids and they are now focusing on requests for proposals.

In the request for proposals, the ministry would give specifics of the work plan and in turn the investors would also submit their technical and financial plans.  He said the government would repay the private investors their money in 10 years’ time. 

In February 2023, the Ministry of Internal Affairs seconded Edicomsa International, a Spanish company, to undertake the development of accommodation for the three institutions.

However, the Finance ministry raised concerns about the plans the company had proposed since it had not provided full details about the amount they would spend on the project, the land and how they would be repaid.

The Solicitor General too rejected a direct procurement of one private company, and directed competition in the hiring of private investors.

The Finance ministry also directed them to establish a technical committee as per the requirement for the procurement processes. 

The committee is supposed to establish ownership of the land on which the houses would be built, designs of the houses and how the repayment will be made.

Last week, the Uganda Human Rights Commission released a report on the police housing that linked poor accommodation of the police officers to their abuse of human rights.

The report indicated that many police officers were renting out of the barracks to avoid the appalling situation but it compromises their security.