Kagina promises more reforms

Kampala- Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) executive director Allen Kagina has promised to introduce more reforms which will also include restructuring of more staff in a bid to revamp the corporate image of the roads body.

Ms Kagina, two months now in office, told journalists yesterday at the marking of UNRA’s eighth birthday that the reforms that will cut across all departments notably, procurement, engineering and administration, are aimed at making the body more accountable to the public.

“Unra has done some very good work in the last few years. However, I think there is capacity to do more despite previous challenges,” Ms Kagina said.
She said the recent restructuring of staff, which was perceived as unfair by some staff, will go on.

The axed staff, she said, were of two categories; those named in last year’s Shs24 billion Katosi road scandal, and those whose contracts had expired but on review of their performance, management deemed it fit not to renew them. In total, she said, 35 staff were affected.

“In order for us to be accountable, we must have mechanisms that allow us internally to review ourselves on how we fared in the past and how we go forward,” Ms Kagina said. “As a roads body, we are supposed to be performance-driven.”

The challenges
She said the biggest challenge hampering corporate governance at UNRA was procurement of contractors for projects which always was a source of fraud. She, however, revealed plans of strengthening the procurement department.

The UNRA boss added that understaffing at the authority also meant there was little oversight and supervision of projects which she said will be addressed through the new reforms.
Ms Kagina on Tuesday met select donors who pledged more funds for Uganda’s road projects for the next five years but only if UNRA reforms its project monitoring and evaluation.

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