Improving Contractors’ Accountability to Lamwo District Local Government through Quality Assurance Services

The program is part of the USAID Uganda NUDEIL Tranche IV Project, which operates in seven districts, including Omoro, Lamwo, Kitgum, Nwoya, Amuru, Oyam, and Gulu. Prior to the NUDEIL program, Lamwo District Local Government faced significant challenges in overseeing contractors and ensuring that construction complied with engineering and construction best practices, health and safety, and environmental compliance norms. The district struggled with resourcing gaps in personnel, equipment, and technical tools to review proposals during bidding and to be present at every work site during active construction. As a result, water quality results were not always verified before drilling or rehabilitating boreholes, health and safety measures at construction sites were not always adhered to, and school building designs were undersized, leading to overcrowding and drop-outs. The NUDEIL program has enabled and empowered local government to oversee contractors and ultimately improve the delivery of drinking water, education, and transportation services to the residents of Lamwo. The program has improved access to safe water services for 2,400 communities within Lamwo and has improved rural road networks so residents can access markets, schools, health centers, and main arterial roads. In the case of education infrastructure, the NUDEIL program has rehabilitated, expanded, or constructed six classroom blocks, totaling 12 classrooms, which has decongested existing classrooms and created more learning space for students. Additionally, the construction of on-premise teacher housing, head teacher offices, latrines, and new desks has created a more comfortable, professional, and safe learning environment for teachers and students. The NUDEIL program has also improved the engagement between Lamwo District Local Government and contractors. Prior to the program, many contractors were reluctant to comply with contract conditions, especially environmental compliance issues, health and safety of workers at site, routine site coordination meetings and inspections, and materials testing. However, as a result of the NUDEIL program, the district has learned to review and approve project milestones from contractors before proceeding with approval of construction works. This has led to improved construction quality, with contractors now complying more fully with infrastructure design documents and specifications. Furthermore, the NUDEIL program has increased the frequency and nature of community engagement throughout project implementation. This includes community sensitization and radio talk shows focused on NUDEIL, where the district provides updates on the program to the entire district, including finances available, project prioritization process and decision making, active tenders, and construction progress. The NUDEIL program is a collaborative effort between USAID, the Ugandan Government, and local partners, including Green Powered Technology, MBW Consulting Ltd., and DT Global. The program has supported infrastructure investments across seven districts through Government-to-Government (G2G) financial partnerships with the Ugandan Government. Under NUDEIL, the partners have provided engineering services, strengthened DLGs' capacity to deliver basic services to Ugandan citizens, and supported the rehabilitation and expansion of infrastructure in 23 schools, repair of three rural road sections, and other projects.