Tired of the unending complaints about the nature of its compound, Uganda Christian University (UCU) has decided to pave all muddy and dust roads at its main Mukono campus.
On April 19, 2017 UCU flagged off a Shs 1.7bn road infrastructure project to tarmac three kilometres of the roads and walkways and parking spaces on the campus.
While commissioning the works, the university vice chancellor, Dr John Senyonyi, acknowledged that the project was long overdue but blamed the delay on various competing priorities his administration has had to juggle over the years.
“The process has been long and has tested the patience of student leaders, staff and the administration alike. Making it to this day is a phenomenal achievement, a stride into the right direction,” he said.
Dr Senyonyi added that the tarmac roads would add to the university’s already enviable beauty and solve locomotion problems that often arise due to weather changes on the campus.
David Mugawe, the deputy vice chancellor, Development and External Relations, also the project’s focal person, told The Observer that the project has undergone the required preliminary stages.
“The fiscal plans of the roads were designed by the university’s faculty of Science and Technology, particularly in the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and were reviewed and approved by the ministry of Works and Transport.
“We opened the bidding and had very competitive offers but eventually the procurement committee settled for Stirling Civil Engineering Limited,” Mugawe said.
Stirling, he added, is a reputable company which has become a house-hold name for working on some of the most durable and long-lasting roads in the country.
Speaking at the commissioning, Rajendra Prasad Sure, Stirling’s regional finance officer, vowed to honour their contractual obligation by finishing the work in record time.
The Observer talked to students who currently are sitting their end-of-semester exams. They welcomed the construction, before adding that it was long overdue.
One of the students, Sharon Namake, a third-year Mass Communication student, noted that some of them had often wondered whether they were in fact walking around a garden of the Mukono-based campus.
UCU, the first private chartered university in Uganda, will mark 20 years of existence in October this year.
alex.taremwa@yahoo.co.uk