Court orders Karuma dam contractor to pay Shs600m over breach of contract

Karuma dam contractors in Northen Uganda have been ordered by the court to pay 600 million shilling over contract breach. (FILE PHOTO)

LIRA– Sino Hydro Corporation Company Ltd, which is constructing the Karuma dam project, has been ordered to pay Shs592 million to a local company for illegally terminating its contract.

The ruling was issued by Lira High Court deputy registrar, Ms Rosemary Bareebe, on Monday. Ms Bareebe directed Standard Chartered Bank to transfer the said money from Sino Hydro’s account to British Hygiene Care’s account in Centenary Bank branch in Lira.

“This application coming up for final disposal this 22nd day of October 2018…it is hereby ordered: That the garnishee (Standard Chartered Bank) pays the judgment creditor [British Hygiene Care], through her advocates account held with Centenary Bank Lira Branch from the judgment debtor’s [Sino Hydro Corporation Company] credit with it [Standard Chartered Bank]…. a total sum of Shs592, 340,000 being the decretal garnished sum [outstanding debt],” the ruling read in part.

The court session was attended by representatives from both companies.

Court documents indicate that at the beginning of 2016, Sino Hydro Corporation Company signed a memorandum of understanding with British Hygiene Care in Lira to manage waste or garbage disposal at its construction site in Karuma.

The deal was to run until the end of Sino Hydro Corporation’s power dam construction contract with the government.

However, along the way, disagreements occurred between the two parties and the contract was terminated. This prompted British Hygiene Care to sue Sino Hydro Corporation.

According to the deal, each time a British Hygiene Care truck removed garbage from Sino Hydro’s site at Karuma, it was to be paid $200(about Shs750,000) while each kilo was valued at $1 and $0.5 for wet and dry waste, respectively.

Attempts to speak to Sino Hydro Corporation’s human resource team were futile as their known telephone contacts were unavailable.

Mr Mohammad Lubogo, the spokesperson for Karuma project at the Uganda Electricity Generation Company Limited (UEGCL), declined to discuss the matter.

“It will be wrong if I speak on behalf of Sino Hydro Corporation in this case because as UEGCL, we are not only unaware that the contractor was dragged before the court but it was also a direct dealing between Sino Hydro and that local company,” Mr Lubogo said.