Katugunda Institute lies idle 3 years after construction
A section of Katugunda Polytechnic Institute. PHOTO/URN
What you need to know:
- When opened, the institute will offer courses such as carpentry, bricklaying and concrete and tailoring, among others.
Leaders in Bunyangabu District have asked the government to allocate funds for the operationalisation of the Katugunda Polytechnic Institute in Kabonero Sub-county.
The construction of the institute, which is fully equipped, was completed in 2018 by Kamu Kamu Civil Works Ltd at Shs277.6 million.
The institute was scheduled to be commissioned on October 11, 2018 but a disagreement broke out between then Minister for Defence, Mr Adolf Mwesige, who was also Bunyangabu County MP and the district chairperson, Mr James Ategeka over who would commission it.
This commissioning was then postponed until further notice.
However, the district leaders say they do not have the funds to get the institute running.
“We recently wrote to the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education to avail funds and staff to be able to run the institute but up to now we have not received the money,” Mr Sunday Rubalema, the Bunyangabu District Education Officer, said.
Mr James Ategeka, the district chairman, said when he followed up the matter, he found out that no funds have been allocated for the institute in the ministry’s budget.
“I was with the Minister for Higher Education and I was told in the budget the Ministry of Education submitted in Parliament our technical school was not included,” he said.
The Bunyangabu County MP, Mr Davis Kamukama, said they will bring the matter to the attention of Parliament when it resumes after recess.
When opened, the institute will offer courses such as carpentry, bricklaying and concrete and tailoring, among others.
Bunyangabu has only one technical school; Kisomoro Technical Institute.
Disagreement
In 2018, then Minister for Defence, Mr Adolf Mwesige, who was also the Bunyangabu County Member of Parliament, invited State Minister for Higher Education State Minister for Higher Education to commission the institute on October 11.
However, the district chairman Mr James Ategeka invited President Museveni for the same reason and to commission other projects in district in November 2018.
Mr Ategeka wrote to the State Minister asking him to cancel his plans to commission the institute.
He also accused Mr Mwesige of not inviting the district political leaders headed by him to the function.
