Slow works on new chamber irks Parliamentary Commission

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Parliamentary Commission is dissatisfied with the pace of the construction works of the new chamber which was expected to be completed in July 2020. The Shillings 206 billion project started in August 2017 and is being undertaken by Roko Construction Limited.

The building is expected provide more space and offices compared to the current chambers. It will increase the number of seats for the legislators from the current 100 to 600. It will have 9 floors comprising an ultra-modern museum, state of the art archiving facility and gallery and others.

In June 2019, the construction works stalled pending the approval of an altered design by the Solicitor General which came through on September 26th 2019 paving way for the work to resume.

On Friday, the Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga, her Deputy Jacob Oulanyah, Leader of Opposition, Betty Aol Ocan and other Parliamentary Commissioners toured the site only to find that the contractor has only completed three and half of the 9 levels.

Kadaga wondered why the contractor was employing skeleton staff when work is way behind schedule “On my way to office, I always peep in and I see only a handful of staff. I advise you to consider night shifts, if you are to finish in the extra one year extension,” she said.

Francis Mwijukye, a Parliamentary Commissioner dismissed the contractor’s claims that the delays were a result of implementing the Covid-19 social distancing guidelines, which forced them to reduce the number of workers.

“You cannot blame Covid-19; many construction works have been going on well. If you are to finish this project in the next one year, you must not only work day and night but double the current efforts,” said Mwijukye.

Andy Sonnet, the ROKO project engineer said he wasn’t in position to guarantee the deployment of staff to work day and night saying such arrangements would attract extra costs that were not included in the contract. “We never priced for that, having staff who stay on site doesn’t only require accommodation but also other items to ensure their safety and security,” said Sonnet.

However, the Sergeant at Arms Ahmed Kagoye, said parliament is prepared to accommodate workers if ROKO would introduce the night shifts. The entire project is now expected to be completed in July 2021.

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