Masindi, Uganda | URN | Local Government Minister Balaam Barugahara has given Masindi Chief Administrative Officer Samuel Kasaija one month to ensure that CMD Investments Limited completes and hands over the long-delayed Kijunjubwa Seed Secondary School to the government.
The multi-billion-shilling school project, which started in 2023, was expected to be completed within 18 months and handed over to the government by July 16, 2024. However, the project remains incomplete despite the contractor receiving more than 1.7 billion Shillings out of the 3.3 billion Shillings contract value.
The project is funded by the World Bank under the Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfer Programme (UgIFT). Speaking to thousands of Masindi residents during the “Expose the Corrupt” campaign at Kabango Town Council on Wednesday, Barugahara said he was concerned that construction, which began in 2023, had dragged on for three years.
He directed Kasaija to ensure that the contractor completes the outstanding works and hands over the school within one month. The project includes an administration block, staff quarters, classroom blocks, a two-unit science laboratory, five-stance VIP latrines for boys and girls, rainwater harvesting tanks, an ICT and library block and a football pitch.
Although some of the structures have been roofed, key works including installation of doors, windows and water systems remain incomplete. The delays have left learners studying in old and reportedly condemned structures. Gerald Muhumuza, the school’s Parents Teachers Association chairperson, said the situation was affecting learners and questioned why the contractor had failed to complete the project.
In June, Masindi district authorities also gave CMD Investments Limited two weeks to complete and hand over the school following prolonged delays. The contractor, however, failed to meet the deadline. Francis Ayena, the site engineer for CMD Investments Limited, attributed the delays to what he described as a late commencement of works.
Ayena said although the contract was signed in January 2023, the government issued the commencement order four months later, affecting the contractor’s work schedule. The Kijunjubwa project is not the first seed school project involving CMD Investments Limited to face delays. In January 2024, the company was also faulted over delays in the construction of Kitwara and Kigumba Seed Secondary Schools in neighbouring Kiryandongo District.
Local leaders in Kiryandongo questioned the contractor’s failure to meet deadlines, saying works that were expected to be completed by September 2024 had stalled. The affected seed school projects remain incomplete.
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