The Fort portal City Woman Member of Parliament Linda Irene Mugisa has tasked the government to explain why the construction of Buhinga Stadium has stalled.
While raising a matter of national concern on the floor of Parliament chaired by Anita Annet Among the deputy Speaker of Parliament yesterday, Linda Irene expressed concern that the construction works of Buhinga and Akii Bua Stadiums in Fort and Lira respectively have been delayed without any update from the governments.
The construction of Buhinga Stadium in Fort Portal started in 2019 with the task given to the UPDF Engineering Brigade for the stadium that was projected to cost 6billion shillings.
However, Linda Irene says the construction progress on the two stadiums have raised eyebrows since the construction work started. Anita Among the deputy speaker of parliament tasked the government through the state minister of sports to give a detailed report about the matter.
Last Year, Eng. Besigye Bekunda the one who was the head of the UPDF Engineering Brigade, told our reporter in an interview that they have completed construction of the perimeter wall which was the first phase.
However, asked when the second phase will start, Eng. Bekunda said he is not sure since they were only contracted to complete the first phase. “If there is any other issue and they call upon us, we shall come and do the work. For any other future developments, it should be the city council to look for money. Ours was to fence the stadium,” said Eng. Bekunda.
It should be remembered that unlike other government projects where sign posts are erected detailing the duration of the project and other related information, for Buhinga, the case has been different as it lacks one.
According to the architectural designs, upon its completion, the stadium will comprise of a football pitch, netball and volleyball courts, offices, dressing rooms, two gymnasiums, a clinic, shops, among other facilities.
In 2019,Fort Portal City Development Forum – MDF, raised the same concerns when they noted that the bills of quantities were also inaccessible and it was hard for the public to know their role in the construction process.
They also observed that the stadium is too close to River Mpanga and there were no plans in place to avoid the river’s overflow from destroying the perimeter wall but the Kabarole District Engineer, Steven Wakatama, was quick to say that a drainage system will be put in place to ensure the wall’s safety since then the issue has not been addressed.
It’s really very bad