Minister Ogwang has demanded an audit of ongoing construction projects at the Jinja district headquarters.

Peter Ogwang, the Minister of State for Economic Monitoring, has requested a special audit of the ongoing construction work at the new Jinja district headquarters in Buwenge town council.

On Wednesday, while inspecting various government infrastructure projects in Jinja district, Ogwang stated that, despite ongoing construction work, a special audit should be conducted to determine whether the funds so far released are worth the structures on site.

The 14 billion shilling Jinja district headquarters construction project began in 2019. The contractor has received 3.5 billion Shillings so far, which will be used to finish the foundation and shape the structure.

Only civil works specialists, according to Ogwang, can conduct independent feasibility studies and viable value for money audits to ensure proper management of funds allocated for government-sponsored infrastructure projects. He also ordered police detectives to begin an investigation into the matter, after several whistleblowers and local leaders complained about funds being misappropriated at the Jinja district headquarters construction site.

 

He also expressed dissatisfaction, claiming that funds for the Buwenge general hospital’s ongoing facelift have been misappropriated. Ogwang claims that the 480 million Shillings set aside for the refurbishment of the hospital’s antenatal and maternal care units is more than enough to build a new, modern maternity unit, given that the old ones were already substandard.

 

Meanwhile, Moses Batwala, the L.C.5 chairperson for Jinja district, says that responsible agencies should ensure that different government projects are regularly inspected as a means of combating corruption within the various local government departments.