Foreign Affairs named in dubious Shs900m car deal

Parliament.

Foreign Affairs ministry officials paid Shs97m for car hire, Shs26m for maintenance, Shs265m for fuel and Shs7m to clean the cars in two days in dubious contracts worth Shs900m that they have now failed to back up with documentary evidence.

According to the Auditor General’s 2014/15 report, the contracts given out by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to facilitate the hosting of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad) summit in 2013, were awarded contrary to procurement procedures.

Of particular interest was a contract to transport the delegates with more than Shs390m spent on vehicles in two days.

“Contract agreements in the sum of Shs900m were signed and activities undertaken before award of contracts by the Contracts Committee contrary to Regulation 225(2) of the PPDA regulations 2003 and regulation 7(1) of the PPDA Regulations, 2014. The accounting officer explained that these were emergency procurements arising from directives given at short notice to host international summits,” the Auditor General stated in the report.

In another expenditure on the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) summit in 2013, a contract for hotel services was awarded to Speke Resort, Munyonyo at Shs594m. However, the hotel was paid Shs682m VAT inclusive, revealing an over expenditure of Shs88m.

Yesterday, out-going Foreign Affairs ministry permanent secretary, James Mugume told the Public Accounts Committee (Pac) that the government was forced into emergency spending for the Igad summit after a World Bank affiliate group cancelled funding for the conference.

Mr Mugume said the funding was cancelled in protest over the Anti-Homosexuality Bill that was being debated by Parliament then amid opposition from the West. He, however, failed to provide evidence that the World Bank cancelled funding or name the specific organisation that had promised to fund the Igad summit but pulled out at the last minute.

“The [Igad] executive secretary came to the President at the last minute and informed him that because of the Anti-Homosexuality law, the World Bank group was pulling out funding. We had to get funding under emergency measures to save Uganda national embarrassment,” Mr Mugume said. Foreign Affairs officials also failed to table the Shs7m contract for cleaning the vehicles.

However, committee vice chairperson Gerald Karuhanga said expenditures were difficult to believe while Masaka Municipality MP Mathias Mpuuga described them as “fictitious”.

“Even if you had hired 100 vehicles, at Shs256m, it means that each vehicle was consuming Shs2.6m per day. How is that possible? What type of fuel were your vehicles consuming? Were they consuming aviation fuel?” Mr Karuhanga asked.

How more than shs900m was spent in payments

Shs97m
Foreign Affairs ministry officials paid Shs97m for vehicles

Shs26m

Amount of money that was used for car maintenance

Shs265m

Amount of money that was used for fuel during the two-day summit.

Shs7m

Amount of money used for washing cars during the two days.