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Gulu, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | District chairpersons in West Acholi have applauded President Yoweri Museveni’s directive to involve the army in undertaking government construction projects in the country.
In a letter to the Ministers of Education, and Health, President Yoweri Museveni said that many government projects are delayed due to corruption and lengthy procurement processes. He argued that the Uganda People’s Defense Forces – UPDF has been instrumental in implementing several construction projects and because of them, the country has made a lot of savings in terms of funds and time.
“I am very certain that we can avoid all these delays implementing government construction projects by utilizing the Army Construction Brigade to undertake these works. ”Part of the President’s letter said and advised that with effect from the financial year 2021/2022, all new construction projects for health facilities and schools must be undertaken by the Army Construction Brigade.”
Nwoya district chairperson Emmanuel Ocan observed that the directive is a gesture of good faith to eradicate corruption for effective service delivery and eliminate unnecessary delays by contractors.
His counterpart Christopher Opiyo Atekere of Gulu district also concurs with the President’s directive noting that most contractors have done shoddy work due to the desire to appease officials who rewarded them with contracts thus abetting deep rooted corruption.
But Michael Lakony, the district chairperson of Amuru disagrees with the directive arguing that it will render some of the government entities and laws that regulate the award of contracts enacted by the Act of Parliament useless.
The President said the directive will gradually be extended to cover other sectors of the government. In 2009, the Ministry of Defense established Uganda Military Engineering College (UMEC) with a core objective to progressively develop engineering, technology, and other scientific capabilities in the UPDF to facilitate national and regional strategic development.
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