Moroto, Uganda: The slow speed of constructing the Shillings 5 billion water system in Moroto district has angered residents in the area, threatening to demonstrate at the office of the president and the chief administrative officer in Moroto. On November 3rd, 2022, the Ministry of Water and Environment held a groundbreaking ceremony to kickstart the construction works by C & Gandijes Construction Limited at Kakingole village in Katikekile sub-county in Moroto district.
However, since that time, the work has not even covered up to 40%, yet it is expected to be completed by the end of 2024. Despite the convincing statement by Eng Johnson Opige, who is from the Ministry of Water and Environment, that the work was progressing well, the locals no longer believe it. This publication learned that during the award of the contract, which was done by procurement in Kampala, the team decided to award the contract to a company that had no money at that time, causing all the delays.
Peter Lomogin, a resident in the area, told this publication that ever since the Ministry of Water and Environment team went for the groundbreaking ceremony, the work has continued moving slowly. “We are not seeing any reality from these projects because this is not the first time a groundbreaking ceremony for the same project took place and never materialized. We are wondering why people in the government keep on using us as their eating plates,” he said. John Lokoru, another resident, said protesting was the only option for them to show their dissatisfaction with the government over empty projects.
Mary Nasike, another resident, said they are used to sharing dirty water with animals in the river spring and that people should not play with their problems. “We know we don’t have a government to give us services. People are using our population for their own benefits but not giving services to us, so they should leave us alone,” she said. But Eng Gabriel Adii, the general manager of C&G Andijes Construction Limited, told the media that the delayed commencement of the works was due to poor design. Kakingol, located in Katikekile sub-county, has a population of about 400,000 people who have been sharing water with animals in the seasonal river spring.
Health workers posted at Kakingol Health Centre III have also been using sand to clean the delivery wards due to a lack of water at the facility. This publication noted that in most cases, expectant mothers and patients who go to seek health services at the health facility are made to fetch water from the spring, which is about 4 kilometers away for cleaning the facility before they are attended to.
