With just a few of months left to end the FY2019/2020, Omoro District Local Government was keen to start phase 1 of the upgrade of the LelaObaro Market in Bobi sub-county, which had been timetabled in the district’s annual work plan.

This project was designed with the support of the Local Government Excellence Fund (LGEF) managed by UNCDF in the framework of the Development Initiative for Northern Uganda (DINU). Once complete, the market will cater to 200 vendors, most of them women, who will benefit from the market stalls, standalone shops and other associated facilities designed to create better conditions for women, breast-feeding mothers, and disabled people. The upgraded market will stimulate local economy, improve household incomes, and contribute to an expanded local government fiscal space.

However, just as the district concluded the recruitment process for the contractor, the government put in place a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus. As part of the lockdown measures, all members of the public except essential workers were advised to stay home. All non-food stores including hardware shops were closed. The president announced that work could continue at construction sites provided the material needed was available on site, but the site hadn’t yet been handed over to the contractor.

In May, as lockdown was eased, hardware shops opened but the curfew and travel ban on public and private transport remained. The district project team working with the district COVID-19 taskforce handed over the site to the contractor.

As per the government directives, the contractor could not start work until all standard operating procedures (SOPs) were in place. These included accommodation for all construction workers on site, handwashing facilities at the entrance and strategic points, face masks provided to all workers and temperature monitor on site. The contractor also had to ensure the construction team maintained social distancing while they worked.

Despite the challenges of the lockdown, with many businesses needing to access liquidity to resume operations, the contractor was able to fulfill all the necessary conditions to start the project.

“The contractor was very efficient, he had all the SOPs in place without asking for advance resources or time,” says Lillian Wanican the DINU Focal Point Person Omoro District Local Government.

Given the exceptional circumstances and the timeframe for the project, everyone was anxious to see the progress of the construction. The district COVID-19 taskforce headed by the Resident District Commissioner and the District Chairperson joined the district project team to provide overall supervision to the project.

The local leadership in the sub-county i.e. Local Council 1 and Local Council III Chairpersons played a vital role in ensuring that construction observed the SOPs provided by the government to minimize the spread of the coronavirus.

The community was just as vested keeping a watchful eye over the construction site.

“Community members were very alert to everything happening on site, if they saw someone without a mask or someone trying to access the site they immediately came to report to the district,” adds Lillian.

All stakeholders came together to ensure the SOPs were observed.

“There was no interference from non-contract workers since SOPs were very strict, which enabled the workers to fully utilize the time for construction,” shares Kidega Michael Wilberforce, “and the support of the UNCDF representative and the close supervision of the district teams also helped to keep us on track.

The involvement of the district leadership, vigilance of the community and the dedication of the contractor enabled the project which begun in May to be completed in July, less than three months despite the challenges related to lockdown restrictions.

“This is quality work which has been done during a period where very few people deliver good results,” Hon. Catherine Lamwaka Woman Representative Omoro District

The first phase of the project includes three blocks of 66 market stalls, four stance VIP latrine, two disabled friendly latrines and rainwater harvesting tanks. The second phase will see the construction of an additional block of 22 market stalls, an administrative block (which includes nursing room), stand alone shops and an animal shelter. Once complete the market will cater to 200 vendors who will benefit from the stalls and standalone shops. LelaObaro market the second biggest market in Bobi sub-county serves approximately 8,000 people in and around Omoro District.

The market takes on the blueprint of the modern markets in Yumbe which addresses the vendors’ challenges by providing permanent stalls with storage capacities, rainwater harvesting tanks to meet the water needs of the market, segregated sanitary facilities and additional amenities which take into consideration needs of women e.g., a nursing room for new mothers, a children’s play and rest area to improve working conditions of the market vendors. Amudat, Amuria and Yumbe districts are also undertaking market upgrade projects.

The market refurbishments are financed through the Local Government Excellence Fund (LGEF), a discretionary performance-based grant facility managed by the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) to support district investments in local infrastructure for economic empowerment of women and young people including refugees.