The National Medical Stores (NMS) multi-billion-shilling facility seated on 10 acres plus an additional 13 acres for future use has been submerged in water, raising serious questions about whether an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was conducted before its construction.
Officially commissioned by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni on November 3, 2022, the facility serves as both a pharmaceutical warehouse and an office complex. However, its location in Kajjansi, an area historically known for clay extraction and yam plantations, indicates that the site was originally a wetland.
Following a recent heavy downpour, the area became muddy and waterlogged. As the rainy season approaches, residents and observers fear that conditions could worsen, potentially threatening the facility and its surroundings.
Questions have now emerged about how such a large project was approved — including the issuance of construction permits while the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) seemingly looked on.
During the official launch of the facility in 2022, President Museveni himself acknowledged the poor choice of location, saying:
“I congratulate you, but you built in a bad place. You built in a wetland. When I asked Kamabare [the General Manager and CEO], because he was born in the rocks, he does not know how wetlands look like. He gave me a long story that this was a quarry of clay by Kajjansi tile makers.”
The President further added: “Yes, if it was a quarry for clay, that proves it was a swamp something beyond question. But you don’t have to worry. We have told people who have built structures like this and factories that we give them ten years to migrate out of the wetlands at their own cost. However, I don’t know how economical it is, considering the amount of money you used to fill up this place, because this place is definitely a swamp.”
The Shs 70 billion facility now sits surrounded by water, turning what was once a celebrated national investment into a symbol of environmental mismanagement and poor planning.
