Soroti wins several awards in the just concluded National Building Control Awards,2023 organized by the Uganda National Review Board. The National Building Review Board NBRB event that was organised celebrating strides taken towards a safer built environment in the country saw Soroti scooping a total of three awards in different categories during the event held on the 8th of December 2023 at the Imperial Royale Hotel Kampala.
The event was organized to commend and honor the efforts taken by developers in championing accessibility and fire safety in our buildings. Accessibility is a cornerstone of creating environment that foster inclusivity and dignity for all, ensuring that spaces are welcoming and usable by everyone regardless of their abilities, embracing diversity in design and construction.
This must ensure that every individual can navigate and utilize spaces freely and independently. Uganda is among the countries that ratified the United Nations Convention on the rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The buildings and facilities must therefore be user friendly to all especially people with disabilities to independently reach, use, maneuver within the building or facility with limited or no hinderances on all equal basis with others.
The focus of the inaugural Building control awards was themed around Accessibility and Fire Safety on buildings to which the public have access (public buildings), the building committees and the Building Control officers. The public also rated the performance of building committees and building control officers.
A total of 42 buildings, 6 Building committees and 5 Building control officers from across the country were selected by the professional panel of experts. They traversed the entire country to validate and assess the information that was received from the online nominations and assessed them to select the winners,
A total of eleven awards were given to different categories which included seven gold awards for which the public have access (public Buildings} in the categories of Education institution buildings, Health institution buildings, Religious institution (faith based) Buildings, Mercantile (commercial) buildings, Arcades, Malls, Shopping centers etc.
Recreational buildings (Hotel) greater Kampala and Metropolitan Area, Recreational Buildings-Up Country, Civic (office) Buildings, and Residential Condominium buildings.
There were two awards for building committees in the following subcategories. District and Town Councils and Cities and Municipalities.
In the category of the educational institution buildings the three nominees were, Makerere University College of computing and information science building, multi-purpose building Soroti University and Machine Workshop building in Kichwamba UTC. Machine workshop Kichwamba NTC was awarded as the best in that category narrowly ahead of Soroti University.
Soroti Main Market won the award as the best building in the Mercantile category, Engineer Oranit Samuel won in the category of the building Control officer and was rewarded with a brand-new motorcycle.
Meanwhile Soroti also won in the category of the building committees for cities and municipalities and received the award of a motorcycle defeating their challenger Masaka City Building committee.
Senior Communications Officer Soroti University set for the award Ceremony.
Other winners in different categories included Kawempe National Referral Hospital for health institutions category, The church of Jesus Christ of latter -days Saint, Jinja won in the category of the faith-based institutions,
Speke Apartments won in the category of Residential condominium category, Recreational hotel building award was grabbed by Four Points by Sheraton, Kololo as Mbale Resort hotel took the Recreational Hotel for Upcountry.
URA tower took the award for Civic Office building as Nebbi District Building committee took the award of the Building Committee district and town councils earning themselves a brand-new motorcycle.
Speaking during the award ceremony, Engineer Flavia G. Bwire the National Building Review Board Executive Secretary commended the winners and stakeholders in the industry for their innovation, dedication, and shared vision for a better safer future. “The buildings and individuals we honour today represent the models of progress setting stage for a new era in building control where accessibility and fire safety are not merely themes but guiding principles” she said.
Present in the event were Nyene Juma Hassan, the Senior Communications officer representing Soroti University, Obore James, Soroti City deputy town clerk, Engineer Oranit Samuel the City Building control Officer and Hon. Ebwalu Jonathan the Soroti City West member of Parliament.