Agago Leaders Want Review of UGX74 Million Valley Tank Construction Contract

Leaders in Agago District have called for the review into the procurement processes for the excavation of a multi-million Valley Tank in Anyami village in Adilang Sub-county.

The valley tank construction under Unyama Water Shed is being funded by the government through the Northern Uganda Social Action Fund phase three-NUSAF3 at 74.3 Million Shillings. 

But District officials say the necessary procedures for procuring a contractor were not followed since the district technical committee was not involved in the technical evaluation of the bid.

Agago LCV Chairperson Leonard Ojok says that the award of the contract was solely conducted by the community procurement committee without the knowledge of any district officials.

The valley tank is being constructed by Gene Ber Enterprises Ltd, a local construction firm that reportedly took over the site this month. 

He notes that the district technical team and the Chief Administrative Officer have been advised and tasked to review the contract and bill of quantity and find out whether the anomaly was a mistake or intentional.

Ojok says whereas it’s mandated in the NUSAF 3 procurement modalities for the community procurement committee to identify and procure a service provider, the mandate doesn’t eliminate the procurement unit of the district from being involved. 

He says the district procurement officer, District Engineer, Chief Administrative Officer, the Resident District Commissioner and his office were not informed about the project.

The Chief Administrative Officer Fred Kalyesubula acknowledges the concerns and notes that the district implementation team was going to sit down and make a review for further actions. 

Kalyesubula says they have also agreed to allow the contractor to proceed with the construction work as they review the entire process from sourcing the service provider to the execution of the project.

“We are going to sit as the district implementation team and review the protocol and make comments to guide further actions. The issues to be reviewed are not many, so we agreed that in the meantime, the contractor proceeds with the work,” Kalyesubula said. 

A total of 168 livestock farmers will benefit from the valley tank once completed to boost livestock production in the area that has consistently been affected by drought, resulting in water shortages.

URN