Shs71b irrigation project stalls over compensation
Speaker of Parliament Anita Among waters a tree seedling during the ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of the Shs71 billion Acomai irrigation project in 2021. Photo / File
What you need to know:
- The project, which was launched on December 18, 2021 by the line ministers from ministry of Agriculture, Animal industry and Fisheries, is expected to sit on approximately 2,000 acres in Achomai Village, Kamutur Sub-county.
A Shs71 billion irrigation project in Bukedea District has stalled after locals refused to vacate land earmarked for the scheme until they are given compensation.
The project, which was launched on December 18, 2021 by the line ministers from ministry of Agriculture, Animal industry and Fisheries, is expected to sit on approximately 2,000 acres in Achomai Village, Kamutur Sub-county.
Daily Monitor has learnt that Dott Services Limited, a company that was awarded the tender, is on site but unable to carry out works.
Mr Moses Okello, a resident, said: “The project is going to sit on a vast piece of land where we have been grazing, where the community has also been fishing, among other activities like agriculture, but the compensation we were promised has not come.”
He added: “ This is a country where honesty is hard to find, we may allow works to go on, then at the end, compensation money gets diverted, let them sort us first.”
Mr Jackson Ojekede, the Kamutur Sub-county chairperson, told Daily Monitor that there was an oversight in the ending financial year, as the Ministry of Finance only allocated money for the construction works.
He said more than 500 people need to be compensated and government officials have already verified claims of 370 people.
“The whole issue arose as an oversight on the side of the government, they secured a contractor and allocated money for construction, but the compensation funds were not provided for,” he said.
Mr Ojekede said they would call for a meeting with the affected people to allow the contractor work as compensation funds are being processed in the next financial year starting in July 2022.
The Bukedea Resident District Commissioner, Mr Imran Muluga, said he consulted officials from the Ministry of Finance, who confirmed that the compensation vote for the scheme has been included in the next financial year.
He asked residents to vacate the areas as their money is being processed.
Mr Muluga said the irrigation scheme would improve supply of water for agriculture and also control floods.
The RDC urged farmers to engage in commercial agriculture.
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