By Spy Uganda
Kampala: The Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among on Monday inspected the progress of the works at the Mandela National Stadium, Namboole.
Among, accompanied by a team from Parliament, was taken on a guided tour by army officials supervised by sports state minister, Hon. Peter Ogwang, and was satisfied with the works done by the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) Engineering Brigade.
“I did not expect to see what I have found here; I want to tell the UPDF Engineering Brigade that I am extremely impressed with what they have done,” she said during the tour on Monday, 15 April 2024.
Among said to ascertain the exact money needed to complete the works, Parliament will need to conduct a forensic audit and requested Parliamentary Commissioner, Hon. Mathias Mpuuga, to properly tour the facility and report back to Parliament on what areas would need improvement.
“We shall do a forensic audit to see how much money we have spent on the project and how much more needs to be done due to the proposed variations,” she said.
Ogwang directed contractors to complete all pending works and hand over the facility within two weeks, in readiness for the African Nations Championships (CHAN) competitions in June.
The stadium is also part of Uganda’s plans for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) competition in 2027.
With Shs76 billion so far released for the project, final works required a full pay up of the Shs94 billion appropriated.
Parliament last week pressed finance state minister Hon. Amos Lugoloobi, to release the remaining Shs17 billion to have works completed.
Speaker Among, upon Ogwang’s request, ordered Pioneer Bus Limited vehicles at stadium’s parking lot to be removed forthwith ahead of inspections.
During plenary on 11 April 2024, a section of MPs questioned the delayed completion of the stadium with the Speaker directing the education ministry to provide a comprehensive report on the status of stadium and the accountability of the Shs97 billion allocated for the works.
The stadium operated under Mandela National Stadium Limited, is a public liability company with the Ministry of Education and Sports, and the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development as the only shareholders.
