By Patrick Opio
Senior Communications Officer
The construction of Lira University’s Demonstration and Laundry-Sterilisation blocks, costing more than 1.3 Billion shillings, has been completed, with the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Dr. Jasper Ogwal Okeng commending President Yoweri Museveni for directing all Public Educational Institutions to deal with the National Enterprises Corporation (NEC) for facility constructions.
The magnificent buildings, received by the Vice Chancellor, on behalf of Lira University, attracted praises from speakers for the job well done by the NEC. The Handover ceremony officiated by Prof. Ogwal Okeng, as Chief Guest, attracted heads of department and other staff members on 5th October 2023.
Prof. Ogwal Okeng lauded NEC as, “The best partner in development.” He adds, “We shall continue working together because there is evidence that NEC is trusted, observes timelines or deadlines and value for money.” He adds, “Toady, I am excited and happy to see the buildings completed…this great.”
He observes that Lira University is a new public University with vast land so “we are at liberty to build this great university of the 21st century using world-class standards and technologies for it to effectively compete globally.”
“With past bad records of the Uganda Army, we were at first doubtful because NEC is run by the UPDF. But after consultations and benchmarking with other universities and institutions, we realised that NEC does good job in infrastructure constructions,” the VC says.
The NEC Representative, Lt. Elias Twinomuhangi, the Quantitative Surveyor, lauded the management of Lira University for trusting them (NEC) with the building task. “NEC is an Implementer, not a contractor…. we use Force Accounts to help government institutions and Entities accomplish works and services in time and cheaply moreover, besides applying professional skills and experience to achieve high performance results,” Lt. Twinomuhangi asserts.
He recalls, “At the beginning Lira University Management doubted NEC….but now, you have seen the results. This is a government entity, NEC is also a government body, we then have to work together for the government of Uganda and we cannot let you down or do shoddy works.”
The University Secretary, Mr. Augustine Oyang Atubo urged staff to always plan for maintenance of structures and other assets under them so that they stay for long. “One of the parameters for annual performance assessment will be how a staff has maintained the departmental assets,” Mr. Oyang Atubo asserts.
Mr. Oyang Atubo praised NEC for employing several workers including women from Lango sub-region to help them in the constructions of the buildings. “At least part of the money we are paying to NEC should benefit the local community members here,” Atubo noted.
Atubo advocated for team spirit amongst staff so the university Mission and Objectives are achieved. “We hope to continue dealing or doing business with NEC in the infrastructure development projects as they have shown competence in the works they have done here so far,” he says.
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