KCCA extends Multiplex street parking contract

Kampala. A Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) council meeting yesterday recommended the extension of Multiplex Ltd’s city street parking contract for seven years amid protest from some councillors who said the move was ‘suspicious’.
Multiplex Ltd first signed a 10-year contract to manage city street parking with the then Kampala City Council in 2009. This contract expires at the end of this year.

However, Multiplex Ltd management wrote to KCCA early this year, seeking an extension of more 10 years.
But when the matter was referred to the committee of physical planning for scrutiny, councillors resolved to extend the contract but slashed the years from 10 to seven.

Approval
The committee chairperson, Mr Abubaker Kawaalya who represents Rubaga, said their decision to extend Multiplex’s contract was based on the fact that the contractor had done ‘a good’ job during for the last 10 years.
Mr Kawaalya explained that it would be unfair to deny Multiplex Ltd an extension yet it is a local company that employs many Ugandans.

“When we assessed the performance of Multiplex Ltd, we found out that they have really performed so well and do not owe us any money. They have gained experience in this field and we believe they need to be given an extension,” he said.

During council proceedings, Mr Mugisha Okwera’s minority report, protesting the recommendations was quashed on grounds that it was not reflected on the order paper.
Mr Okwera, who represents Nakawa I, is a member of the committee. He accused his colleagues of rushing to extend Multiplex’s contract without doing thorough assessment of their performance.

“I raised a red flag against the extension at committee level but I was ignored. The recommendation on extension was done in haste without involving leaders of city divisions where street parking spaces are. I will petition the Kampala minister, asking her to rescind council’s recommendation,” he said.

Asked whether he suspected foul play in the entire deal, Mr Okwera said that his colleagues’ haste decision was tempting him to believe so.
Earlier on, the director of human resources, Mr Richard Lule, who represented the executive director, wondered why councillors could not let Multiplex’s contract first expire so that other companies could also compete.

But councillors noted that they were satisfied with the company’s performance.
According to Section 7 of the 2010 KCCA Act, the Authority is mandated to, among others, initiate and formulate policy, and enact legislation for the proper management of the city.

The recommendation will be sent to the minister for approval. But the KCCA Act mandates her to either accept or rescind KCCA council’s resolutions, especially if they contradict the existing law.
According current statistics from KCCA, there are currently 5,682 parking slots in the city. However, these slots are found in only the Kampala Central Division and in some parts of Makindye and Kawempe Divisions.

Contradiction
Issues. KCCA’s internal audit report for the fourth quarter of Financial Year 2017/2018 faulted Multiplex on their operations. The July 31, 2018 report states that while Multiplex Ltd, is supposed to deploy its employees with at least 350 handheld meters to capture all transactions as per the contract, some of the transactions are done manually.
The report recommends that the entire city Streets’parking system must be streamlined if more revenue is to be generated. According to the report, Multiplex is supposed to remit Shs1.8b to KCCA annually.

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