The construction of the Rakai Bulky water project has finally kicked off. In 2007, government through the Ministry of Water and Environment launched the construction of the Bulky Water project at the tune of 17 billion shillings to address the persistent water crisis. Government contracted Dot Construction Services Limited to undertake the project and went ahead to compensated 60 families to pave way for the construction to begin.
However, the construction didn’t begin as the site remained abandoned. Last year, Ministry of Water and Environment awarded Rakai district a medal for successfully implementing the bulky water project sparking off protests from area leaders led by Benon Mugabi, the LC5 chairman. Now, Dot Services has finally embarked on the project five years after.
Benon Mugabi, Rakai district LC 5 Chairman says that construction started after government released shillings 8.5 billion out of the 11 billion budgeted for to kick start the project. Mugabi says that they didn’t get any explanation on why only shillings 8.5 billion was released instead of the 17 billion shillings budgeted for the entire work. He however says that they are happy the construction has finally taken off and they expect it to be completed within 18 months.
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George Kasibante, the Rakai district water officer says that once completed the bulky water dam will also be used for irrigation in addition to providing clean water to residents. He says they are closely monitoring the construction work to ensure the bills of quantities in the contractual agreements are implemented.
Chris Lujumba, a resident of Kagamba is excited about the construction work. Lujumba says that they face severe drought during the dry season, adding that once the dam is complete, the water crisis will be no more.
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Maria Mutagamba, the Water and Environment Minister has not yet commented on the construction work as she could not pick up or return our repeated calls to her cell phone.
