The “Big We” is as interesting as its title.  Dr. Apollo Buregyeya has come up with not only a unique title but also a comprehensive analysis of the prevailing difficulties associated with local contractors in Uganda.  This is after his innovation when he founded Eco Concrete Ltd, a local Ugandan construction company with interests in iron ore, natural pozzolana and kaolin mining, production of green cement and cement-based construction materials, civil engineering works and real estate development. In this book, he shares his experiences as a Ugandan local contractor and the challenges associated with it.

In this book, students and practitioners of civil engineering and related disciplines will find a great companion giving a historical perspective of the construction of structures.  Special reference has been given to the history of construction of structures in Uganda.  The reader will find it interesting to learn how words like Kolasi, referring to tarmac roads, became part of the local vocabulary after the European-owned contractors COLAS Construction Company executed the contracts for all the first major paved road projects in Uganda during the 1940s and the 1950s.  Ugandan companies that gained prominence in subsequent decades are also given due coverage.

Dr. Buregyeya points out the favours enjoyed by foreign contractors owing to their financial muscle.  Cunningly, however, they use local contractors as subcontractors to fund these projects – a total contradiction of what the procurement processes set out to achieve.  In short, foreign companies have huge bank balances to convince the local procurement entities to give them contracts but use funds of the local contractors to execute their contracts!  This is one of the important contradictions the author presents to the reader.  The author then proposes ways by which local Ugandan contractors can thrive against all the highlighted odds.  The Uganda National Association of Building and Civil Engineering Contractors (UNABCEC) with a membership of up to 422 contractors and an agreed classification system is proposed as the most reliable rallying point of Ugandan construction companies with long-term vision.

Among the flaws pointed out is the use of foreign standards/codes of practice to design infrastructure in the country yet the local conditions, including soils and environmental factors, differ significantly from those in Britain or Europe whose standards/codes of practice are used in Uganda.  This, according to the author, explains why Ugandan infrastructure, such as roads, deteriorate beyond expectations after they have been designed following foreign standards/codes of practice.  Lack of strict enforcement, rampant corruption and lack of skilled labour have been pointed out as some of the causes of poor infrastructure quality in Uganda.  The author proposes measures that can help raise the quality of infrastructure in the country.  Flaws in the formal education system that lead to production of graduates lacking skills are pointed out.

Each chapter is approached in such a way that it builds from the previous ones, making the book very interesting.  I find the “Big We” an excellent companion for students, lecturers and practitioners of construction in Uganda.  I am sure other readers will find it very interesting.

Foreword by:

Moses Nduhira Twesigye-omwe (PhD),

Associate Professor of Civil Engineering, Kabale University, Uganda