Speaker Among impressed by works at Namboole stadium

Anita Among, the Speaker of Parliament, visited the Mandela National Stadium in Namboole to inspect the construction site.

Along with a group from Parliament, Among was given a tour by army officials under the supervision of state minister for sports Peter Ogwang. Speaker Among expressed satisfaction with the work completed 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.

Parliament will need to perform a forensic audit in order to determine the precise amount of funding required to finish the project. She asked Matthias Mpuuga, the Parliamentary Commissioner, to thoroughly inspect the facility and report back to Parliament on any areas that require 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 gave contractors two weeks to finish all outstanding work and hand over the facility so that the African Nations Championships (CHAN) competitions in June could take place.

Uganda’s plans for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) competition include using the same stadium as well.

With Shs76 billion so far released for the project, final works required a full pay up of the Shs94 billion appropriated.

Amos Lugoloobi, the state minister of finance, came under pressure from parliament last week to release the final Shs17 billion needed to finish the project.

Speaker Among issued an order for Pioneer Bus Limited vehicles to be removed immediately from the stadium parking lot in advance of inspections.

A portion of MPs questioned the stadium’s delayed completion during plenary on April 11, 2024, and the Speaker ordered the education ministry to submit a thorough report on the stadium’s status and the accountability of the Shs97 billion allotted for the project.

The only shareholders in the public liability company that manages the stadium, Mandela National Stadium Limited, are the Ministries of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development, as well as Education and Sports.