Deal To Supply Electoral Commission Office Space Fueled Fights

Posted by: Kyeyune Andrew Jonathan in Uganda news May 27, 2021

A fight is brewing at the Electoral Commission over a deal to find office space for the commission workers. They are to leave the offices on Jinja road in order to pave way for the construction of the Jinja road Flyover, according to sources.

The process that had been ongoing for three years ended in 2018 with Acacia Place Limited selected as the best bidder. According to sources, this decision triggered fights among senior EC officials as well as the other firms that lost out on this deal.

UNRA sent a letter to the Electoral Commission asking them to vacate the Jinja Road premises by June 2021. This will enable UNRA to easily construct the Flyover.

The first advert inviting bids from suitable firms first appeared in the news in 2016 and ever since the process for finding a new office has been on. Reports said that the EC found none of the firms ready to be compliant, therefore the team recommended re-tendering.

More adverts were seen between 2017 and 2018 and finally, the team produced a report after evaluation. Acacia Place Limited emerged as the best-evaluated bidder, beating all other competitors. They availed the EC office space in Bugolobi that met the expected standards.

However, rumor has it that Simbamanyo Estates LTD and Zhang Hao and Mrs. Liu Shu petitioned PPDA for administrative reviews.

According to reports, some officials in the Electoral Commission are still adamant to complete the deal. A source also said that some elements at the electoral commission want another procurement process done afresh. The bad news is if this proceeds, it will cost taxpayers at least Shs1.8 billion per month in the delay to shift.

In its defence, the Electoral Commission denied these allegations. It said they are not true and that they followed a clear process during procurement.

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