Foreword

The Diocese of Nebbi Church of Uganda has a great deal of property, and, from several points of view, this is a great asset which not only provides for places of worship, residence and social action but also gives us a financial security if it is well maintained.

The care for, and proper maintenance of, property must be among our priorities. It is a matter of good stewardship. Where property falls into disrepair it becomes a liability, and a liability that very quickly escalates. It can easily happen that more money is needed to be spent on returning a property to good repair than the property is actually worth.

The department of Estate and procurement was for long not been in place in the diocese but was in the heart of some individuals to officially put it in place. In 2021, the New Administration under leadership of Retired Archbishop Dr. Henry Luke Orombi. With a very dedicated Diocesan Secretary and Administrator decided to create the office of estate in July 2021 accompany by a test in procurement volunteer to manage some of the oversights that continues to affect the diocese.

A specialist with bachelor in Transport and logistics Management personnel and procurement were brought to help fill the Gap.

The two realized questions about the maintenance of property was not included in priestly formation. Nor should it have been so! They do not think that priests should be expected to have more than a very elementary understanding of building maintenance. But it is very important that every building is regularly inspected, so that routine maintenance is carried out, and any faults can be identified at an early stage, avoiding unnecessary extra work and additional costs later.

Many of our parish communities will have parishioners with building knowledge and expertise. Please ask such experts to make regular inspections of parish buildings and report on any need for maintenance and repair. Where parishes do not have people with such knowledge, the Diocesan Property Office can be responsible for making a regular inspection.

In recent years, very considerable amounts of money have been spent on buildings because of neglect. That expenditure could have been largely avoided if there had been careful and regular oversight. There have been cases where priests have not been able to move to their new appointment because the presbyteries have been in a sad state of disrepair. We need to be careful stewards of the property where we live.  

The Diocesan Property Office will be carry out regular inspections and will request Parish Priest   to be aware of properties whenever they are visiting churches within their Parishes . We have a joint responsibility to see that all diocesan property is well maintained.

We hope that this Property Management report will be of great assistance to you and to those parishioners who work with you in the care of our many buildings and sites, together with those building professionals who engage with us.

We ask for support from the Office of the Bishop through Diocesan Secretary and all parties.

With my thanks and best wishes

OPOKA PETER

Diocesan Estate Officer