By Stephen Ainganiza, Senior Communication Officer – Fort Portal City
Fort Portal City Mayor Rev. Kintu Willy Muhanga has challenged contractors to deliver quality infrastructure and protect the rights of learners as ENABEL rolled out four major development projects worth more than Shs3.8 billion in the city’s education and health sectors.
Speaking during the groundbreaking ceremony, Rev. Muhanga praised ENABEL for its continued investment in Fort Portal, describing the agency as a dependable development partner. “ENABEL has continued to demonstrate its commitment to improving education and healthcare in Fort Portal City. We expect contractors to deliver value for money and produce quality work that reflects the image of Fort Portal as Uganda’s Tourism City,” he said.
The mayor cautioned contractors against violating the rights of students, particularly at Kitumba Secondary School, during the construction period. “As you execute these projects, respect the rights and safety of our learners. Development should never come at the expense of our children’s welfare,” he added. He also appealed to ENABEL to strengthen its partnership with the City by supporting environmental conservation through tree planting at construction sites and across the City.
The projects include a staff house at Bukuuku Health Centre IV, a skills laboratory and lecturers’ room at Fort Portal School of Health Sciences, an administration block, library, and ICT laboratory at Kitumba Secondary School, and an Outpatient Department (OPD) at Kataraka Health Centre.
Deputy Resident City Commissioner for Fort Portal North Division, Henry Kitambula, urged City authorities to reward contractors delivering quality work and blacklist those producing substandard results, tying the effort to President Museveni’s “No Sleep, No Corruption” campaign. He commended ENABEL for complementing government’s service delivery efforts through strategic investment in education and healthcare.
Kitumba Secondary School Head Teacher Elizabeth Kabagaya welcomed the new infrastructure, noting it would resolve the school’s long-standing challenge of operating across two campuses. She added that ENABEL’s support extends beyond infrastructure, including sponsoring 50 vulnerable students, constructing an incinerator, installing rainwater harvesting tanks, training teachers in the Competency-Based Curriculum, and facilitating online learning for staff.
Construction of the Bukuuku staff house, Kataraka Health Centre OPD, and Kitumba Secondary School administration block has been awarded to Cream General and Technical Services Ltd, while ESBRO Construction Limited will build the skills laboratory and lecturers’ room at Fort Portal School of Health Sciences. The Bukuuku staff house is valued at Shs 221 million, the Kataraka OPD at Shs 808 million, the Kitumba Secondary School works at Shs 1.5 billion, and the Health Sciences project at Shs 1.3 billion.
Officials noted that ENABEL constructs buildings with foundations strong enough to support up to three floors in future, allowing government or other partners to expand structures later without demolition, a cost-effective, sustainable approach to infrastructure development. Deputy Assistant Town Clerk Kusemererwa Peter said the projects are expected to improve access to quality education and healthcare while strengthening public service delivery across Fort Portal City.