Prime Minister cautions officials on accountability

The Prime Minister has warned district officials against diverting money meant for infrastructural development projects such as construction and maintenance of roads at local governments.

Addressing the second annual Integrated Transport Infrastructure and Services programme review workshop on Thursday, Ms Robinah Nabbanja tasked civil servants to conduct field visits aimed at realising value for government money.

“Interact with the people on ground and understand whether what is planned is actually being implemented,” she said.

The Prime Minister cited a case in Entebbe Municipality where it was discovered that officials accounted for a road worth Shs420m that had been worked on using a low cost ceiling yet it was maintained in 2011.

“When we arrested one engineer, they said they had only received Shs25m of the Shs420m. She said the Financial Year 2021/2022 was her turn. Technical officials connive among themselves and provide fake accountabilities for roads not worked on,” Ms Nabbanja said.

On his part, Gen Edward Katumba Wamala, the Works and Transport minister, noted that while “there is high demand for road construction and rehabilitation … there is underfunding of planned projects and maintenance of transport infrastructure assets.”

Last financial year, Parliament appropriated Shs4.9 trillion to the Integrated Transport Infrastructure and Services programme. The government and development partners contributed 59.02 percent and 40.98 percent, respectively.

The expenditure completed the upgrading of 352km of strategic roads. This added to the stock of the national road network. Also included were civil works for the rehabilitation, expansion of Entebbe International Airport, which stands at 89.54 percent, and cumulative construction works for Kabaale International Airport, which stand at 75 percent completion.

The money also saw construction works for ferry landing sites that were completed to varying levels such as ferry landings for Sigulu, which stand at 70 percent; Amuru-Rhino Camp Ferry, whose works stand at 64 percent; Buyende, Kaberamaido as well as Kagwara ferries, which stand at 31 percent; and rehabilitation works on the Malaba-Mukono railway (220.9km) line, which stand at 64 percent physical progress, among other works.

Issue

The Prime Minister cited a case in Entebbe Municipality where it was discovered that officials accounted for a road worth Shs420m that had been worked on using a low cost ceiling yet it was maintained in 2011.

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