{UAH} Government spends billions on fake projects-DO WE STILL HAVE UGANDANS WHO HAVE THIS COUNTRY AT HEART???
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Government spends billions on fake projects-DO WE STILL HAVE UGANDANS WHO HAVE THIS COUNTRY AT HEART???
Women pack mukene (silver fish) at Nkata Landing Site in Bugaya Sub-county, Buyende District.Shs187 million will be spent on a mukene project. FILE PHOTO
By Chris Obore
Posted Sunday, September 15 2013 at 01:00
Kampala- Even as government claims there is no money to increase salaries for each primary teacher by an average Shs40,000 it has emerged that the State pays out billions of shillings annually to several projects that exist only on paper in various ministries and public agencies.
An analysis of the first quarter 2013/14 Budget published in the media by the Ministry of Finance indicates that close to Shs2 billion is going to projects that either do not exist on the ground or are duplicated across different government departments and ministries.
The projects, originated by the government departments and approved by the national planning committee, continue to draw money from the Treasury under the Public Investment Plan even after they have ceased operations. For instance, up to last financial year, government was allocating money for purposes of establishing a Civil Aviation Authority which has been in existence since 2004.
The ministry of Finance closed some of the suspicious projects in the 2012/13 financial year. However, our investigations show that some more dubious programmes have received monies in the current 2013/14 financial year.
Secretary aware
Secretary to the Treasury Keith Muhakanizi acknowledged the existence of some programmes that duplicate activities and some that can be described as "white elephants".
"Yes, in this year's budget we cut off 60 projects that were doing nothing. Somebody must account for that money," he said.
Mr Muhakanizi, who looked surprised after the Sunday Monitor presented to him a list of projects his ministry had released money to, yet they did not seem to exist on the ground, said time had come for a review of every project government releases money to.
"Thank you [Sunday Monitor] for bringing this to my attention; now our transparency programme is bringing good feedback," said Mr Muhakanizi who had on August 17 published the First Quarter releases of funds to different government departments.
Asked to explain whether projects like Kabale Tea Factory and Uganda Meat Exports Development Project exist, he said: "Kabale Tea Factory does not exist. We are only giving seedlings to a man called Musinguzi; that money must be accounted for."
When asked to prove whether the Meat Export Project exists, Mr Muhakanizi admitted that although the project had received Shs253 million in the latest fund release, he had personally never known what it does. "I am involved in meat and animal breeding but I also have never seen what the project does. I agree we must change."
Most of the suspicious projects are under the Ministry of Agriculture. Some questionable projects that received money in first quarter include: Poverty Alleviation Project under State House (Shs312m), Value Addition Tea Industry (Shs150m), Plan for National Agriculture Statistics (Shs181m) — UBOS does the same job — and Improvement of Food Security in cross-border districts (Shs26m).
Other projects are: Marketing Agricultural Production in Northern Uganda (Shs1 billion), Uganda Good Governance (Shs130.8m), Kabale Tea Factory (Shs266m), Export Goat Breeding and Production (Shs406m) and Increasing Mukene (silver fish) for Human Consumption (Shs187m).
The junior minister of Agriculture, Mr Bright Rwamirama, said yesterday he did not have specifics of the projects or the money allocated but referred the matter to the permanent secretary, Mr Vincent Rubarema – the accounting officer – who was reportedly on leave. He added: "How do you expect the projects to start or get completed if the money has not been sent or fully utilised?"
He said on Friday, Agriculture ministry officials had a meeting with officials from the Finance ministry and they never raised the issue of these projects. The minister, Mr Tress Bucyanayandi, did not pick or return our repeated calls, nor did the undersecretary, Mr Collins Dombo.
The Sunday Monitor established that the government has numerous suspicious projects receiving funds annually without recognisable outputs. Some projects like Poverty Alleviation in State House and Goat Project in Sembabule were politically engineered and continue to draw billions of shillings annually from the national treasury even when there is little or no evidence of value for money.
The Sembabule Goat project has, in fact, asked for more funding even when huge questions hang on its justification and output.
In a report, a copy of which the Sunday Monitor has obtained, Mr Paul Ssembeguya, the Goat Project managing director, says part of his activities is monitoring the National Agricultural Advisory Services (Naads). "We request for front loading (sending money in advance) to ease the implementation," reads his report. The same project recently came under questioning by Parliament.
Our investigations also found out that technocrats in several government departments had resorted to generating high-sounding projects on paper to attract funding from the State but do litt This means the State provides money for no work done. The Sunday Monitor has obtained copies of some project proposals, all of them showing how the projects would purportedly help promote food security, value addition, increase household incomes, scientific innovations and model villages among others.
Mr Muhakanizi agrees that some of the programmes were political while others were simply designed to defraud taxpayers. But he says he will cure that as he has embarked on reforming public expenditure starting with releasing money only after a work plan has been presented.
The Director of Budget in the Ministry of Finance, Mr Kenneth Mugambe, said they had noticed the problem and have worked out tighter control measures.
"Some ministries have been lobbying desk officers to push for approval of these projects but we are now saying these officers must also be held accountable for the projects they confirm to meet requirements of public investment plan," he said.
Procedure
All projects go through a vetting process by the National Development Committee chaired by the Ministry of Finance, Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury.
Other members of the committee are: National Planning Authority, Permanent Secretary in Office of the Prime Minister, Permanent Secretary Office of the President, Director of Economic Affairs in the Finance ministry, Director of Budget and the Accountant General
A ministry prepares projects and submits to a sector officer in Finance for cost-benefit analysis
The sector officer in Finance submits it to the committee and defends it for approval and inclusion in the national budget
Parliament approves the Budget and money is released
Closed projects
1. Rural Electrification
2. Promotion of Renewable Energy
3. Rehabilitation of Public Libraries
4. Community Dialogue Project
6. Gender Project
7. Community-based Rehabilitation
8. Elimination of Child Labour
9. District Business Information Centre
10. Strengthening Capacity on Concessions
11. Investment Plan Coordination Project
12. Child-friendly Basic Education
13. Institutional Development Programme
14. National Transport Master-Plan
15. Development and Strengthening of Quality Management
16. National Air Transport Facilitation Project
17. Community Agriculture Infrastructure Improvement
18. Establishment of a Civil Aviation Authority
19. Markets and Agricultural Trade Improvement
20. Transport Policy Planning
21. Rehabilitation of Soroti Airfield
22. Evidence-based Decision Making Phase II
23. Energy for Rural Transformation
24. Participatory Development Project
25. Support to AGOA
26. Kampala Institutional and Infrastructure Development
27. Kabale Airstrip and Road
Additional reporting Frederic Musisi
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- STILL SURVIVING THE MAFIAS,LIVING IN FEAR AND PAIN,BEING HUNTED LEFT,RIGHT AND CENTER BY MAFIAS PLUS THEIR NETWORKS.
- ON 29/JANUARY/2004 DURING RADIO ONE EKIMEEZA TALKSHOW AT CLUB OBBLIGATTO I REVEALED THE PRESENCE OF MUSEVENI CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION BOUGHT FROM NORTH KOREA AND IRAN-THAT WAS HIDDEN UNDER GULU AIRPORT HUNKER AND THE UNITED NATIONS GRABBED,DESTROYED AND TOOK AWAY THE REMAINING ONES TO UNKNOWN DESTINATION-THIS IS ONE REASON WHY PRESIDENT MUSEVENI AND HIS MAFIAS CAN NEVER-NEVER-I SAY NEVER FORGIVE ME SINCE I EXPOSED AND SPOILED THEIR DEADLY DESTRUCTIVE AGENDA FOR NORTHERN UGANDA!!!
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