Browsing by Author "Muhwezi, Lawrence"

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    Assessment of the Effects of Procurement Planning Processes on Performance of Construction Contracts in Local Governments in Uganda
    (Journal of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, 2020) Muhwezi, Lawrence; Tumusime Musiime, Fred; Onyutha, Charles
    Procurement as one of the core functions of public sector agencies in Uganda has become a big matter of concern as expenditure on its processes have continued to be alarmingly high in government departments including local governments. This study assessed the effects of procurement processes on performance of construction contracts in Local Governments in Uganda. The study adopted a descriptive research design and used purposive sampling to sample 81 respondents. Data were collected using questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS software. The study revealed that poor procurement planning led to big budget deficits with a mean of 1.86 thus affecting performance of construction contracts to a very large extent. The study further revealed that funds for the construction contracts are not always released in time and this has a big effect on performance of construction contracts. The study concluded that procurement planning and contract monitoring and administration have a significant effect on the performance of construction contracts in District Local Governments in Uganda. The study recommended that Local Governments should adopt the developed model to control the procurement process and other anomalies in the award and management of construction contracts.
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    Water availability trends across water management zones in Uganda
    (Atmospheric Science Letters, 2021) Onyutha, Charles; Asiimwe, Arnold; Muhwezi, Lawrence; Mubialiwo, Ambrose
    This study assessed trends in gridded (0.25 0.25 ) Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR) precipitation, potential evapotranspiration (PET), and precipitation minus PET (PMP) across the four water management zones (WMZs) in Uganda including Kyoga, Victoria, Albert, and Upper Nile. The period considered was 1979–2013. Validation of CFSR datasets was conducted using precipitation observed at eight meteorological stations across the country. Observed precipitation trend direction was satisfactorily reproduced by CFSR data extracted at five out of eight stations. Negative (positive) values of longterm PMP mean were considered to indicate areas characterized by water scarcity (surplus). Areas with large positive PMP were confined to Lake Victoria and mountains such as Rwenzori and Elgon. The largest negative PMP values were in the arid and semi-arid areas of north and northeastern Uganda. The null hypothesis H0 (no trend) was rejected (p < 0.05) for increasing annual precipitation trends across the various WMZs except in the extreme eastern parts of the Upper Nile, Kyoga, and Victoria WMZs (or areas along the boundary of Uganda and Kenya). The H0 (no trend) was rejected (p < 0.05) for decreasing trends in annual PET over West Nile region of the Upper Nile, western parts of Victoria, and the Albert WMZs. For increasing trend in PMP, the H0 (no trend) was rejected (p < 0.05) across the various WMZs except around the Mount Elgon area. The study findings are relevant for planning of water resources management across the different WMZs in the country.