Multi-billion govt projects stall in bushes of Kyegegwa

In Kyegegwa District, several government multi-billion projects have stalled, despite some being completed and commissioned. 

The projects are now lying idle and have become white elephants.

This has left beneficiaries deprived of the much-needed services in their areas to increase their household income and local revenue for administrative units.

Among the projects completed and commissioned, but are now lying idle, are the Katente Maize Mill and feed mill plants in Kyegegwa Town Council. These were constructed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industries, and Fisheries under the Agro-industrialisation for Local Economic Development (AGRILED) Programme and they were commissioned on June 15, 2022 by Agriculture minister Frank Tumwebaze.

To date, the main gate of the two plants remains closed. The inside buildings that have installed solar systems are surrounded by overgrown bush and neighbouring residents report that it has become a hideout for criminals, especially at night.

Another white elephant project is the Kyegegwa Milk Collection Center, located in Kyegegwa Town Council, which was completed three years ago and was rehabilitated by the Dairy Development Authority.

During the commissioning of rehabilitation works in April 2021, the Minister of State for Animal Industry, Dr Bright Rwamirama, said the initiative was meant to address challenges of post-harvest handling of milk and enable farmers to earn more money.

To date, the facility has continued to lie idle, the equipment has never been installed and unknown people have started vandalising it. Last year, it was reported that one of the caretakers had turned it into a poultry farm.

Kitente Market
Another stalled project is the Shs624 million Katente market, located a few kilometres from Kyegegwa Town. It was constructed with funding from the World Bank under the Development Response to Displacement Impact Projects (DRDIP) from the office of the Prime Minister.

The chairperson of Kyegegwa Town Council, Mr Musa Swaibu, said all incomplete and non-functional projects have left the town council grappling with low local revenue collection. He said they are still waiting for the government to commission the dairy collection centre to make it functional.

“It is a shame to see that we have a dairy collection centre that is not functional. Instead of people selling their milk with value addition, they sell in jerricans on the streets. We have followed this issue in vain, and lost hope,” he said.

Regarding the stalled Katenta market, which has 16 lock-up rooms, shade, and stalls, he said the town council had anticipated to fetch Shs15million per quarter in local revenue, which they haven’t achieved.

In the middle of Kyegegwa Town, the government through Naads constructed a total of 24 business lock-up houses that have awaited commissioning for a year now and are covered by bush.

Mr Swaibu stated that all the 24 lock-up houses had a total budget of Shs900 million for construction.
 “Up to now, we are waiting for the handover of these structures. We have written several letters to the permanent secretary of Local Government, but up to now, no feedback. We remain wondering why it has taken so long to commission the structures that were completed a year ago. Our people continue to operate on the streets,” he said.

He further revealed that they had budgeted to rent each lock-up house at Shs100,000 per month, to fetch Shs2.4 million yearly. Additionally, in general, all stalled and non-functional projects in the town council per year, were expected to fetch local revenue of Shs150 million.

Mr Paulino Kesi, the chairperson of Katente Market and a resident of the area, expressed disappointment that despite the intervention of the Deputy IGG, the contractor declined to complete the remaining works and hand it over.

“When you see these white elephant projects lying idle, it’s when you come to know that taxpayers’ money is being put to waste. Where we are working from is near another non-functional maize mill and animal feed mixer plant, all in the bush. If they don’t want to use them, they should allow us to occupy them,” he said.

Mr Kesi explained that the maize plant was supposed to start milling maize and produce flour ready for export to other countries. However, because it has failed to become functional, beneficiaries buy expensive flour from shops.

“After the commissioning ceremony, in the evening, some of the machines inside the buildings were taken away. We did not know why they were taken away, and we didn’t know if the ceremony was staged to make the chief guest happy. Among the machines that were taken was a milk cooler installed in the container and generator,” he said.

Other completed and commissioned projects that are not functioning include both coffee and maize hullers.
Some of the structures have been installed with processing equipment, but the machines became non-functional after experiencing breakdowns.

Mr Lawrence Rwabucubya, a farmer, said: “Our coffee machine is unable to process the grade of the processed coffee that we wanted. We made a report, and we are waiting for mechanics to come and repair it.” 

The Kyegegwa chairman, Mr John Kisoke, acknowledged the existence of stalled projects in the district and said they have asked the government to embark on their completion.

He expressed concern about the Milk Collection Center plant that is not working and added that the contractor was procured from the central government, and the district was not given the bill of quantities.

“The construction of the Katente market is stalling because the IGG has not issued a report after his intervention over shoddy work. When the report is out, it will give the district the direction on what to do.

For Katente maize mill and feed mill, the district is still waiting for the National Agriculture Advisory Services (Naads) to procure the remaining equipment to be installed to allow it to be fully functional,” he added.

Sacco investments
According to the Agriculture Cluster Development Project report of 2023, Kyegegwa Tweheyo Sacco’s total investment was Shs298.5m for the milling shelter and maize mill. Kyaka Cassava Growers and Processors Association had Shs298.5m while Kasule Coffee Producers Group had Shs268.6m.