Yesterday afternoon, a fierce storm hit Kampala and other parts of Uganda and several areas were severely affected and among these is the newly constructed Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) headquarters in Nakawa.
In a video that is already making rounds on social media, an entire floor inside the building is seen being flooded with rain water that forced its way through the roof and windows.
URA employees tried to take away documents and some electronic equipment like computers from the tables but others were already soaked in the water and destroyed.
In a statement released by URA signed by the tax collection body’s Head of Public and Corporate Affairs Vincent Seruma refuted claims of the flooding and said that the water made its way to the second floor through the rooftop louvres that were designed to bring fresh air into the tower since it is a ‘green building.’
“Today we experienced exceptionally heavy rains with strong winds which pushed rainwater through the rooftop louvres that dropped to floor two where the atrium starts,” the statement reads in part.
The statement further says that a stronger solution to protect the louvers from such exceptional storms is being put in place.
To be quite fair, the statement actually explains the meaning of flooding although it is twisted. With the state-of-the-art Shs139 billion URA Tower experiencing such leakages after the storm yesterday, one can only wonder how our friends in the slums are fairing.