Kitgum gets back its Shs 8.1 billion from treasury for infrastructure

Kitgum, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Kitgum municipal council has received back 8.1 billion shillings for the Uganda Support to Municipal Infrastructural Development programme [USMID] fund that it had returned to the treasury in June this year.

The money is part of 11.5 billion shillings World Bank funded USMID cash the municipal council authorities didn’t absorb in 2019/2020 financial year mostly due to disruptions occasioned by the outbreak of the Covid-19.

Emmanuel Banya, Kitgum municipal council town clerk told Uganda Radio Network in an interview that the returned cash is expected to facilitate implementation of infrastructural works under USMID project this first quarter.

Banya says the outbreak of covid-19 had affected progress of the USMID project citing delays in approval of road designs and ultimate procurement of a contractor to undertake infrastructural works.

In July this year, the municipal council officials recommended for re-adjustments on the architectural designs of selected roads after a draft architectural design was presented by Comptran Engineering & Planning Associates a consultancy firm from Ghana.

Banya says the consultancy firm have now presented concluded designs of seven roads stretching for 2.8 kms comprising of street solar lights, pedestrian walkways, cycle lanes, garbage points and boda boda stages.

The roads in the first phase of construction are Kitgum road, Janani Luwum road, Apila road, Philip Adonga road, Ayaa Hellen Dean road, Oneka Road and Lakidi road.

Banya notes that the progress of the road design has given them a way forward to kick start procurement of a supervising consultant to supervise the road design before an actual infrastructural contractor is procured.

The procurement will be undertaken jointly with Arua and Gulu city councils.

The second phase of the USMID programme is expected to kick off with construction of a Modern Bus park in Central Division. Already Comptran Engineering & Planning Associates is undertaking sensitization to prepare businessmen, taxi and bus operators in the current bus park for relocation ahead of the major construction works.

Kitgum municipal council is expected to receive from government a total of 25 billion shillings at the end of this financial year for the first phase of the infrastructural component of the project.

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