Entebbe International Airport and Civil Aviation Authority have down regarded a damning report about the sanitation of their toilets and runway signed by deputy Inspector General of Government, F. Miriam Wangadya – a viral article published exclusively by theugandan.com.ug on January 20, 2017.
The IGG found that on most occasions, the toilets lacked toilet paper and hand soap (like in public toilet, which has a high influx of visitors). It also disclosed that this mess was caused by shortage of manpower, absenteeism of the cleaners due to little pay and the general lack of supervision and knowledge on how to clean a facility of Entebbe International Airport’s stature.
But Entebbe Airport dismissed report recently while unveiling their ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management Systems (QMS) certificate.
The aviation authority defended itself saying it didn’t classify the level of cleanliness in relation to other airports in any way thus should not be misused to classify the cleanliness of Entebbe Airport toilets in relation to those of other airports.
Mr Vianney Luggya, the CAA manager public affairs said, “Entebbe International Airport has time and again subjected itself to Airports Council International (ACI) Airport Service Quality Survey Programmes under which volunteering airports are subjected to assessments through which airport users give feedback on the service quality relating various services facilities” he said.
Dubious contracts
On alleged corruption in the award and management of contracts for cleaning companies Guardian Services Ltd (GSL) and Clear Environment Cleaning Services Ltd (CECS) CAA director of airports and aviation security John Kagoro who was also implicated in the IGG’s report responded, “Companies are required to have two sets of audited accounts for a year, one of the companies (Clear Environment) brought one set, if someone hasn’t attached them both you can tell them to send it, our evaluation team noted it and asked the company to bring the year that was missing but they (CAA evaluation team) forgot to include it in the minutes so this company found it difficult to prove to the IGG their legitimacy in attaining the contract.”
The CAA evaluation team made a report and recommended clear environment company showing certificates of past completed works and they were awarded a tender, “it was simply an error” he said.
However, the two current cleaning company’s contracts had been extended for three months since the airport’s more than 300 toilet facilities couldn’t be left unattended to as the body begun a new procurement process of acquiring cleaning companies in an open tender.
“After we have reached well over 200 applications we take them to the solicitor general who is meant to oversee awarding of such contracts” he said.
