As taxpayers’ money continues to go down the drain, more projects have been identified in a shocking state. Most recently, a solar-powered irrigation and water supply system in Buvuma Island has come under fire.
Members of the Parliamentary Committee on the National Economy have raised serious concerns about the implementation process of this government initiative, indicating significant loopholes that could turn the project into a costly white elephant.
During an inspection and monitoring tour of government-funded projects in Buvuma District on Wednesday, the committee, led by Chairperson John Bosco Ikojo, scrutinised the solar system’s functionality and its impact on local communities.
The members expressed frustration over the lack of proper planning and oversight, questioning whether this ambitious project would truly serve its intended purpose or merely add to the growing list of abandoned or ineffective initiatives that have drained public resources.
At the solar-powered irrigation site in Kikongo village, located in Buwooya sub-county and supported by the Ministry of Water and Environment, the committee members found that the project, which cost over 800 million shillings, is hardly being used.
Only four people are benefiting from it, and they can’t even make use of 10% of its capacity.
One committee member, Oliver Katwesigye Koyekyenga, the Buhweju Woman MP, pointed out that the project was imposed on the people of Buvuma without any prior study to see if it would work or if the intended users had the means to take advantage of it.
She expressed disappointment when the Ministry officials could only identify these four landowners as beneficiaries of a project that was designed to support over two villages.
There’s a group claiming to have 25 members, but they are only managing a small one-acre tomato garden and can’t even afford a Ugx1,000,000 Can of tomato seeds to plant.
Koyekyenga said that by forcing this project on the locals, the Ministry has effectively wasted taxpayers’ money. Such a large project could be poorly managed yet still expected to help reduce poverty and improve food security, which was its primary goal.
Buvuma Woman MP Susan Nakaziba criticised the central authorities for starting the project without talking to or involving the district, which could have helped set up better management and oversight.
She suggested that the Ministries of Water and Agriculture should work together before launching projects like this in local communities instead of doing things separately, which puts public money at risk.
“This is taxpayers’ money, and the loan for this project needs to be paid back with interest. If they don’t involve technical experts from the district, the project is likely to fail,” Nakaziba stated.
Besides small gardens of cassava and tomatoes and patches of dry, scorched earth, there’s little evidence of an irrigated garden near the pump house, water reservoirs, or anywhere nearby.
Commenting on the contractor, Buvuma Resident District Commissioner Jackie Kobusingye Birungi expressed her strong disapproval of the company for starting a government project without the district authorities’ knowledge.
She questioned how such a project could have launched without her being informed, especially since she was supposed to give it the go-ahead.
“These contractors think they only have to answer to the central government and see us down here as unimportant; this is an oversight we cannot accept,” Birungi said.
Buvuma MP Robert Migadde Ndugwa echoed these concerns, stating that the project should have benefited the entire village instead of just a few individuals.
He partly blamed the situation on the decline of local government institutions, which he says stems from the government’s decision to redirect local revenue to its coffers, demoralising potential stakeholders in project implementation.
Migadde stated that extension workers, who should be the first considered for such projects, are now discouraged, leading to the underutilisation of resources.
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