Shs4b loss unearthed in Bushenyi govt projects - report

A report from an investigation into the Agriculture Cluster Development Project (ACDP) in Bushenyi District has found that government lost over Shs4billion in supported farmer projects.

The November 2023 evaluation exercise conducted by the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA) in partnership with the Western Ankole Civil Society Forum (WACSOF) discovered that out of 18 ACDP-supported projects, only seven are operational, while the rest are white elephants.

ACDP is a partnership project of the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry, and Fisheries and the World Bank, financed through International Development Assistance (IDA) under an agreement between the Republic of Uganda and IDA dated September 26, 2016.

The investigation specifically focused on the execution of contracts for the delivery of coffee and bean processing machines and establishing whether there was value for money in the execution of those contracts.

It also sought to establish the functionality of the 18 projects supported by ACDP and identify and document gaps found in the execution of contracts for the delivery of coffee and bean processing machines to the 18 farmer groups- with possible recommendations.

According to the report, only 7 projects are operational, 4 achieved full delivery and 14 posted partial delivery. Meanwhile, 9 projects are connected to power, and 2 of these lines are non-commissioned power lines.

ACDP matching grants to farmer organisations were structured into the construction of shelter and storage facilities, equipment for post-harvest and value addition, and capacity-building interventions, and the total approved budget for each organisation included 33% co-funding by grantees.

“Beneficiary groups reported that the company (Musa Body Machinery (U) Ltd.) couldn’t deliver fully because they were not connected to a power source, yet this was not stipulated in their contracts, which is a breach on the part of the service provider,” reads the report.

The investigation also claims most beneficiary farmer groups did not co-fund as per their memorandum of understanding with the ministry of agriculture. This affected the execution of planned project activities, and two projects are at risk of being sold off by creditors.

“The bank advertised the properties of Nyakasharara Coffee Growers Cooperative Ltd to recover unpaid loans. Buyanja Tukore Cooperative Society Ltd lost a case in court for failure to pay the contractor who built the coffee shelter. Their properties are due for auction to recover the money owed to the contractor. It was observed that the contractor, Musa Body Machines (U) Ltd, dumped machines at farmer group premises. There is a risk that they might be stolen, misused, or destroyed as a result,” reads the report.

While commenting on the report on Wednesday, Bushenyi District Production Officer Gordon Tumuhimbise confirmed to this reporter that Musa Body did not deliver the services as per the contract, adding that the farmers had limited capacity to co-fund their projects.

“Musa Body did partial deliveries, giving an excuse that power connections were not part of the contract agreement on top of the farmer organisations failing to mobilise resources to enable them to pull power to the factories. From the beginning, we were not part of the engagements, and we did not interact with service providers, but when issues arose, we asked them, and they promised to deliver. Since then, there hasn’t been change,” said Mr Tumuhimbise.

The district officials were not part of the projects because the contract agreement excluded them.

“When complaints arose, we wrote to the ministry of agriculture, asking them to push the suppliers, but there was no response. They only responded to the power connection where they promised to inquire from the ministry of energy,” Tumuhimbise explained.

Efforts by this reporter to reach Musa Body Company for a comment were futile as the known contacts couldn’t be reached.

WACSOF Executive Director Apollo Lee Kakonge says the projects have great benefits to the communities and keeping them idle will not only lead to public money going to waste but will also deny the citizens an opportunity to achieve economic prosperity.

“It’s important that the government fast-tracks the processes of making support available to make these projects fully operational in the short term. The government should follow up and ensure that contractors complete delivery of machines to beneficiary farmer groups where there was partial delivery. The provisions of the contracts between contractors and farmer groups should be adhered to,” he said.