IGG says Finance ministry  officials fueling corruption

Finance ministry officials have been placed at the heart of a deep-rooted culture of corruption reported to be embedded in the award of lucrative public infrastructure project contracts.
Inspector General of Government (IGG), Ms Beti Kamya, this week said there is a trail of graft in government projects running between ministry officials and Parliament where budgetary allocations for public works are considered.

READ: IGG opens shock corruption probe of Parliament 

Ms Kamya, who did not mention names or cite specific cases of fraudulent behaviour, said the matter was brought up during a closed-door meeting she held with regulatory bodies at her office in Kampala on Tuesday. 

The clear-the-air engagement was billed as part of the ombudsman’s search for answers to lingering questions as to why government infrastructure projects remain bedeviled by the twin evils of shoddy work and delays. 
Attended by representatives from the Uganda Institute of Engineers, Uganda Building Review Board and the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority, the meeting reflected on how a lot of money is lost to corruption before the contractor gets to work.

“Some of the revelations indicated that there is a lot of corruption right from the source; the Ministry of Finance, before they put it on the budget [sent] to Parliament before they pass the budget. Each one gets a cut through the journey up to the contractor,” Ms Kamya told Monitor after the meeting.

“If it is a Shs10 billion worth of road, by the time the contractor gets the money it is about Shs5 billion. The other money is swallowed up along the route in kickbacks and corruption so the contractor is left to figure out [how to fix] the Shs10 billion worth of road using Shs5 billion,” he said.
Ms Kamya urged contractors to report the culprits to her office in time to enable investigation, prosecution and interdiction of implicated officials before taxpayers’ money goes to waste.

In response to the suggestion that MPs are in cahoots with the Finance ministry officials, Parliament’s director for communication and public affairs, Mr Chris Obore, encouraged the engineering fraternity to report suspected offenders instead of hiding behind the House.
“Let them tell the IGG where the money allocated to projects goes not to use the excuse of Parliament. Government projects are planned at ministry level, not Parliament,” he said.

Finance ministry says
At the Finance ministry, the docket spokesperson, Mr Jim Mugunga, referred to accusations his colleagues are complicit in the criminality implicit in contract corruption as “baseless”. 

He maintained the ministry upholds a zero tolerance policy on corruption and asked that whoever has a complaint directly engages the Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury or the Minister.
“I, therefore, invite the contractors to be courageous on top of using the above avenues effectively. They may choose to also equip the IGG with evidence of their accusations or formally file documented complaints,” Mr Mugunga said.

Speaking as chairman of the House Public Accounts Committee, Butambala MP, Mr Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi, was noncommittal as to whether fellow legislators are dabbling in the corrupt practice of influence peddling around contract awards.

He, however, conceded that corruption starts with the processing and approval of loans, going all the way up to the procurement of contractors. 
Mr Kivumbi also blamed contractors for fuelling corruption, questioning why one would take on a project when money availed to them is inadequate for the job.
“Today, money is paid on a single account and it goes to the end user agency. It is the user agency that arranges the kickback in the urge to get work, so they cannot begin to finger-point,” Mr Kivumbi said, adding that contractors are well-placed to be whistle-blowers since they know the culprits.

Commenting on the IGG’s accusations, the executive director of the Anti-Corruption Coalition Uganda singled out so-called ‘brokers’ for promoting corruption. Mr Marlon Agaba said contractors have admitted to him elsewhere that they bribe officials in order to win tenders.
“It is true contractors lose a lot of money in what is called ‘oiling the system’ because they have brokers from whom they get these contracts. The ones we have interacted with said around 20 percent of the contract money goes into bribes,” he said.