By: Ismael Kasooha
Kampala
The Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Nabbanja Robinah has commissioned the sh57.4bn tower jointly constructed by Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets (PPDA) and Uganda Road Fund (URF) in Nakasero, Kampala.
In 2016, a memorandum of understanding was signed between PPDA and URF to develop shared office premises and construction began on November 28, 2017 and was completed in August 2021 at a total cost of 57.413bn shillings.
PPDA & URF Towers in Kampala
While commissioning the tower on Thursday, Nabbanja asked the two agencies to now invest the money that would be spent on rent into developmental projects.
Nabbanja lauded President Yoweri Museveni for assenting to the amendment of PDDA act and asked PPDA to deliver on its mandate through effective and timely procurement process.
“I want to thank H.E president Yoweri Museveni for his continued advice and guidance that has seen the country transformed,” said Nabbanja.
Rt. Hon. Nabbanja being received at the Commissioning of the PPDA & URF Towers
Nabbanja said that the joint venture between PPDA and URF should be emulated by other government ministries, departments and agencies to invest in capital development and save the government from spending a lot of money on rent.
“If other ministries and government agencies also teamed up to set up such structures a lot of money being spent on rent would be saved and used for developmental ventures,” said Nabbanja.
Nabbanja also handed over a Certificate of Title to the Chairperson of the Board of Uganda Road Fund to give them ownership.
The Prime Minister accompanied by Amos Lugolobi, State Minister for Finance with the two Executives for PPDA and URF at the commissioning of the Tower
The Minister of State for Finance, Amos Lugolobi who represented the Finance Minister, Matia Kasaija thanked the two agencies for demonstrating collaborative efforts and emphasized that the government would use this approach.
He says that the Ministry was committed to providing direction to the government on public procurement. Lugolobi said that some loans had not performed well because of fights and the government continued to lose money through delays.
The Executive Director PPDA Benson Turamye said PPDA was digitizing all systems to fight corruption. He lauded President Yoweri Museveni for his effort to transform Public Procurement and commended the Prime Minister for her zeal in the fight against corruption.
Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Nabbanja Robinah handing over a certificate of title to Uganda Road Fund Board Chairperson.
The Executive Director Uganda Road Fund (URF) Dr. Eng. Andrew G. Naimanye thanked the government for enabling them to acquire their own home and promised to build on this to serve the country better.
The collaborative procurement has helped in long term saving on rent and saving government funds that would have been spent.
The tower, located on plot 39, Nakasero Road, has three basement levels for 153 parking spaces, Seven floors of office space and training rooms plus 2 floors of 305 seater conference halls.
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