Amid concerns raised by the Speaker of Uganda’s Parliament regarding the readiness of Namboole Stadium for hosting Uganda’s World Cup qualifiers, State Minister of Sports, Hon. Peter Ogwang, has released a public statement addressing the issues surrounding the renovation project.
Minister Ogwang affirmed that Namboole Stadium is undergoing renovation, with the UPDF Engineering Brigade overseeing the works. He stated, “I want to confirm that Namboole is under renovation and the contractor is UPDF Engineering Brigade.”
Regarding the financial aspect, Minister Ogwang disclosed, “The total budget was meant to be and was approved to be UGX 97 Billion. Out of the 97 billion, only 80 billion has been released so far. I can also confirm that the UPDF has undertaken works worth that amount.”
In response to concerns about completion timelines, Minister Ogwang emphasized, “We asked that the remaining money be availed to complete works on this facility.”
Hon. Ogwang revealed that CAF has so far undertaken two inspections on Namboole Stadium at the request of the government.
“We wanted to confirm that the renovation works are in line with the CAF guidelines,” he said.
He acknowledged that CAF identified impediments affecting the completion of the renovations, impediments he said would be sorted out if the remaining balance of funds were released by the Ministry of Finance to allow the completion of works.
“The slow works on the stadium are purely due to financing. My question is, why hasn’t the government released the money to allow the completion of the project,” he said.
Hon. Peter Ogwang added that the Ministry of Education and Sports had already contacted the Finance Ministry on the issue of financing.
“The Minister of Education and Sports has written three letters to the Ministry of Finance regarding financing. Unfortunately, the Finance Ministry hasn’t released the balance to allow the completion of the stadium works,” he said.
“Give me 17 Billion, and work is completed, and we shall have the games at home. The problem is with Hon. Matia Kasaija. Why hasn’t he released the money,” Minister Ogwang reiterated.
The slow works at Namboole mean that Uganda will host Botswana and Algeria in the World Cup qualifiers on a neutral ground in June.
