Masindi District Chairperson Patrick Wobusobozi and officials from the Inspectorate of Government (IGG) have directed Emperial Construction Company to complete the Kijunjubwa Seed Secondary School project within two weeks.
The school project, valued at Shs3.05 billion, was originally expected to be completed within 18 months of construction commencement. However, five years later, the project remains unfinished.
The directive followed an inspection visit by a team from the Inspectorate of Government led by Christine Lamwaka, Manager for Monitoring and Capacity Building, together with representatives from various anti-corruption agencies.
The team toured the school, which has remained under construction despite repeated timelines for completion.
Led by Wobusobozi, the officials expressed concern over the prolonged delay, noting that a project of such value should not remain incomplete for five years.
Lamwaka said the delay was denying learners access to improved educational facilities and limiting the school's potential to serve the community.
“I’m told the school has the capacity to accommodate 1,000 students, but currently it has less than 200 students. Parents and students can only be motivated by good structures, so let the district work with our offices in Hoima to ensure that the project is completed,” she said.
She explained that the Inspectorate's visit was part of a broader effort to engage district leaders and stakeholders on service delivery and address public concerns regarding government projects.
“Our reason for visiting the region is to interact with district leaders and stakeholders on service delivery, but also provide answers to the general public where there are concerns. Together we can build a corruption-free society,” Lamwaka added.
Wobusobozi, who has been in office for just one month, said he was shocked to learn that the school had remained under construction for such a long period.
“My way of work will be working with technical people, but ensuring that once a timeline is set for a project, it must be completed. We can’t allow this. The contractor has asked for two weeks, and after two weeks we shall come back to see whether it is complete,” he said.
He also warned contractors handling government projects in the district against delays and substandard work.
“I will not tolerate shoddy work and unserious contractors,” Wobusobozi said.
The Kijunjubwa Seed Secondary School project was initially awarded to CMD Construction Company, which later abandoned the site.
The contract was subsequently taken over by Emperial Construction Company, but the project has continued to face delays.