Gulu municipality today signed a Shs 23.6 billion deal with a Chinese construction company, Chung Ching International Construction (CIC) to repair 10 major roads in the municipality.
The roads to be repaired are in Layibi and Pece divisions. They will be repaired under the Uganda Support to Municipal Infrastructure Development Programme funded by the World Bank.
The roads include Kabalega road, Adonga road, Crane Avenue, Phillip Tannel, and Odur min Odyek road.
Others are Commercial road School road, Salvatoiry Olwoch road, Walter Opwonya Road and Muroni road.
Speaking after the signing of the contract, George Labeja, the Mayor Gulu municipality said the work must be completed within the one- year period agreed on
“We urge you to finish the work as soon as possible because we are on our way to make Gulu a city. The face of northern Uganda is seen in Gulu City. If the work is not done well, it will be an embarrassment to us, ” Labeja said.
The Town Clerk, Francis Barabanawe, advised the company administrators to ensure that there is quality work. Barabanawe noted that Gulu emerged the best among 14 municipalities in Uganda and as a result was allocated more funding by the World Bank.
“Gulu was given Shs 7billion for being the best Municipality in Uganda out of 14 municipalities. We were supposed to get less than Shs 5billion. But because of the good performances we received more money than any other Municipalities,” he said.
Capt. Santos Okot Lapolo, the Gulu Resident District Commissioner cautioned the Chinese against shoddy work saying it will tarnish their reputation and lead to them losing out on projects in northern Uganda.
The Gulu RDC also called on the Chinese construction company to employ youth from Gulu so that they benefit from the project.
At the signing ceremony, some expressed concern that pavements on the new roads in Gulu were already being destroyed by heavy lorries. In response, Gulu municipality Engineer Terrence Odonga said they have begun fining drivers who destroy the pavements.
“We have already given fines to 5 drivers who have been parking on the slabs along the road. We have fined them Shs 500,000,” said Engineer Odonga.
1 Comment
Countries who developed, do so by buying equipments, tools, trained their people and give them the job and responsibilities to constructs, build, maintain, and repair/renovate roads, buildings ect. Not just sign contracts with foreigners! at the end of the contracts you are back to square one, because no one has the skills and the tools to maintain the roads, leave alone having no more money. Yet the government/country will be paying high interest rate on this money to the world bank almost indefinitely. Do not think if they use the word “give,given’ then it’s free, NO it is a loan from world bank and must be paid back, usually two to three times more that what you have received. This is not a blame on any of you, but a blame on a system, that is exploiting so called poor countries; this need to be addressed and corrected.