Govt faulted on failed construction on Akii-Bua and Buhinga stadium

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Legislators on the Committee on Education were left in shock after they discovered that a US$113 million grant from the Chinese government for construction of Buhinga and Akii-Bua stadia has not been utilized.

The MPs were disturbed to learn that the Ministries of Education and Sports,  Finance, Planning and Economic Development have been silent about the grant only to come out towards it expiry.

“The programme was supposed to begin in 2018; you have correspondences of 2021 when the project should be winding up. Are you really offering a good service? Are you prioritizing the two stadia?” Kibaale County MP, Cuthbert Abigaba asked.

This revelation on the grant came to light as the State Minister for Sports, Hamson Obua and State Minister for Planning, Amos Lugoloobi appeared  before the committee. The two ministers said the Chinese government withdrew the grant due to Covid-19.

“On 26 October 2021, we received a copy of a letter of the Minister of Finance indicating that a pool of Ugandan projects under Forum for China-Africa Cooperation had been revised and some projects were dropped including the two stadia,” Obua said.

Lugoloobi explained said that the Chinese government dropped the stadia and focused its funds to the fight against Covid-19 in Africa through donation of equipment and medicines.

MPs however did not buy into the two ministers’ justification and rendered it ‘lame and insufficient’.

“Show me a letter from China saying the projects were dropped and the reasons. Is it because they supplied us with masks or sanitizers?” Busia Municipality MP, Geoffrey Macho asked.

Macho said he suspects the Ministry of Finance shifted the grant to other projects of their interest saying that only a response from China would satisfy the committee.

MPs blamed government for laxity in securing the grant saying it was approved in 2018 months before the onset of Covid-19 and could have been utilised had government moved swiftly.

MPs were also concerned that funds from government for building the Akii-Bua stadium have not been put to use.

“Since 2015 substantial money amounting to Shs3 billion has been appropriated towards construction of Akii-bua stadium but reports indicate that only Shs1.8 billion has been utilised,” Abigaba said.

The committee chairperson, John Ntamuhira said that they will undertake a countrywide oversight visit to ascertain the progress made on different stadia where government has provided funding.

Lugoloobi to allay MPs’ dismay pledged to speak about the two stadia at the next Forum for China-Africa Cooperation summit scheduled for 28-30 November 2021 in Senegal.

”I have been selected to represent the ministry at the next FOCAC meeting; I want to assure the committee that I will present these two stadia because Parliament has expressed all forms of desire and commitment,” Lugoloobi said.

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SOURCE: UGANDA PARLIAMENT MEDIA