Mbale City council is losing 17 million shillings monthly from street parking fees as leaders continue to fight over the award of a tender.
According to the City Public Relations Officer, James Kutosi, over a period of six months since November last year, the city council has not been receiving fees from street parking because of the conflicts between two tenderers fighting to collect the fees. He says that every month that passes, the city council is losing shillings 1 million.
In November last year, Mbale City awarded a contract to Nalu Tours and Travels to collect on its behalf the street parking fees. This followed a bidding process that was started in August of the same year and was completed in November.
A number of companies including Central Investments Agency Limited, Glob World Engineering Uganda Limited, Bangoma Investments, Nalu tours, and Travels and Joslious Investments submitted their bids. In November 2021, Nalu tours and Travels won the contract.
Upon the award of the contract to Nalu tours and Travels limited a contract with the city council was supposed to be signed in the same month and commence work on November 15th, 2021. In the contract, Nalu tours and Travels Limited is supposed to pay shillings 17 million to the city council monthly and if it had started to work in November as the contract stated, the city council would now have received over shillings 100 million for the six months.
However, other companies including Central Investments Agency Limited and Global Investments Limited dragged the city council to the High court. They asked the court to halt the process and accused Nalu tours limited of forging the powers of attorney that they presented during the bidding leading to the award of the contract.
The court on Thursday last week, Court dismissed the case against the city council.
Kutosi says Central Investments Agency Limited the old contractor has continued collecting the street parking fees despite the expiry of their contract and that the money is not being declared to the council.
He says that this has greatly impacted service delivery in the center like garbage collection noting that almost all revenue sources in the city are curtailed by what he called political confusion.
He says that they are worried the contractor Nalu Tours and Travels may drag the city council to court because they do not have any reason why the contractor should be in the field working yet he was awarded the contract and already advanced money to the council.
Robert Luze Kamya, the Managing Director of Nalu Tours and Travels says that he plans to institute a case against the city council should they not resolve their impasse with the previous contractor noting that the contract would have started way back in November but noting has been done.
He said that under the law, the company has a binding contract with the city council and they have tried to use leniency which has now failed.
Muhamood Masaba, the Industrial City Division Mayor who is being accused of barking at the old contractor said he is fighting for NRM cadres to be given contracts nothing that the revenue collected from street parking is small money which can’t be blamed for failed service delivery in the city.
He insists that the people collecting money currently are doing it on behalf of the Divisions and the money is being deposited into their accounts.
Musa Kasajja, the Industrial City Division Speaker says that the ongoing fights have made the city council lose local revenue which has hindered service delivery adding that he is not aware of any money being deposited on the account of the Division by the said contractor.
