KAMPALA: There was no due diligence before the government contracted Seyani Brothers to modify the passenger terminal building at Entebbe International Airport. This is part of the findings by the committee on commissions, statutory authorities, and state enterprises (COSASE), which are scheduled for debate before parliament.
Parliament tasked COSASE on October 28, 2021, to inquire into the matter when the Bukooli Central MP, Solomon Silwanyi, raised the matter based on information from a whistle-blower. So Silwanyi then told the parliament that there was a lot of mismanagement and misuse of money collected at the toll gate at the Entebbe International Airport (EIA). There were also unpaid leave allowances, and NSSF deductions weren’t paid.
This came up as COSASE was assessing and evaluating the operations of the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA). Now, in their report, the COSASE Chairperson, Joel Ssenyonyi, notes that Seyani Brothers did not submit a qualified surveyor for the project as required in the standard bidding document.
He also says that there was no evidence that a qualified surveyor was used in the project implementation as well as the required staff and equipment. People who work for UCA are working on the Passenger Terminal Building as part of the National Civil Aviation Master Plan, which was put together in 2015. UCAA is working on this project.
The project comprises re-modelling of the existing departure areas, conversion of the existing trunk road into a departure check-in-hall, construction of a 4-storey new concession block, a new 4-lane elevated trunk road, and a connection bridge to access the departures on the first floor of the existing terminal building, external drainage, and landscaping. UCAA contracted M/s Seyani Brothers in 2016 to undertake the modification work. COSASE says that the project was implemented in phases.
The first phase involved the construction of the 4-level structure, external finishes of the structure, a raised access road, and the internal finishes of the departures floor. The works were completed in December 2020, according to Ssenyonyi reports, with a defect liability period ending in December 2021.
People and people who work at the airport can now use a part of the departure area.In terms of financial performance, the contractor had been paid all the certificates, including the 5O% of retention. The 50% remaining retention would be paid when due (after the defect liability period). The Construction Works Supervising Consultant, Messrs. Ssentoogo and Partners, Architects and Planning Consultants, were appointed to facilitate implementation of the Construction Works, “said Ssenyonyi.
He further reported that a review of the designs with airport stakeholders and documentation for the project was carried out. He recommended that instead of two separate buildings, one building should be constructed, combining departures and arrivals in line with the existing terminal building.
Ssenyonyi said that this would effectively and efficiently address the issues of congestion, facilitation, and security. He also told parliament that the re-scoped project or new design would increase the cost by 6.4 billion schillings, from 42.69 billion schillings.
Separation of Domestic and International Terminals
The Nakawa West MP recalled that while approving the loan, Parliament recommended that separate terminals be built for international and domestic traffic according to the UCAA Master Plan. However, he said that this was not taken into account during the project’s implementation, which led to the construction of a single building that housed both domestic and international terminals.
Ssenyonyi also observed that the departure drop-off road lacks a ramp to ease accessibility for persons with disabilities (PWDs) and that the rooms reserved for health checks are too small. He recommends that the departure drop-off road be redesigned with a ramp to ease accessibility for PWDs, and access to the health port be improved.
“UCAA should ensure that for future projects, all stakeholders are consulted, and a comprehensive needs assessment is undertaken at the planning and tendering stage to avoid variations,” Ssenyonyi recommended.
Regarding rental arrears by different government entities at Entebbe, COSASE recommends that UCAA should come up with a policy to guide its business with Government entities and draw up a recovery plan for the debts.
According to Ssenyonyi, different government entities were in rental arrears worth Shillings 102.4 billion, adding that the arrears date back to 2006.The debtors are the Ministry of Defense and Veterans Affairs, the Uganda Revenue Authority, Uganda Air Cargo, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and many more.