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THE TROUBLE WITH UNCHECKED FISCAL IRRESPONSIBILITY
IN UGANDA: IT IS TIME TO RETHINK PUBLIC PROCUREMENT
An Analysis by Rob!" Ki!#n$a
Pa!"n! a" Ki!#n$a % Wasi& A$'o(a"s
Recent newspaper reports have drawn attention to some troubling
public
procurements in Uganda. The most staggering were the Mukono
Katosi road
project and the Standard Gauge Railwa !roject "SGR#.$These
projects have been
concerning to the keen and alert members o% the public %or a
number o% reasons.
&irstl' there has never been a time when Ministers bicker in
the press as much as
the have over these two projects. Secondl' despite the usual
rhetoric on (ghting
corruption' both Ministers whose names were a dail appearance in
the press are
still in )abinet. *ne would have thought the would be too tarred
to remain in
public o+ce' and at least suspended to pave wa %or
investigations. Thirdl' we live
in a countr that once censured a Minister over ,--- litres o%
%uel., t is hard to
believe that the Ministers responsible %or these works have gone
unchecked.
The Mukono Katosi road scandal is also worring because %rom a
political level' it
is the (rst time that so little concern has gone into a clear
case o% %orger and %raud.
Members o% !arliament used to love these sorts o% cases because
the provided
%odder %or constitutional petitions "and like pointed out above'
censure motions#.
This does not seem to be the case anmore. There is all but an
admission o% the
%orger o% insurance bonds and et no one is asking the nsurance
Regulator
/uthorit what the are doing about these %orged bonds. 0e will
have to live with
the Ministers not %acing an reprimand.
1ut what about the construction companies involved in this
scandal2 The )hinese
continue to construct the road and all is well over there. am et
to hear which
%unds are constructing that road and where the came %rom' i% the
%unds that le%t
the U3R/ co4ers actuall did disappear. !erhaps the onl solace to
be gotten %rom
this scandal is that a %ew individuals that worked %or U3R/ will
be investigated. am
doubt%ul that an meaning%ul prosecution will ensue. 1ut could be
wrong.
The SGR project is troubling enough on its own. !aul 1ushari5i
has dealt with a
number o% (nancial aspects o% wh it is troubling. will deal with
onl a %ew more
6uestions that arise. &irstl' the 78ecutive is determined to
ensure that this project
$!erhaps the most compelling and brilliantl written article on
the SGR !roject was writtenb !aul 1ushari5i see9
http9::shillingscents.blogspot.com:,-$;:$-:its
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(rms. These projects will be constructed at whatever cost the
)hinese indicated was
the actual cost and Ugandan citi5ens will pa the cost over a ver
long time.
This calls %or the need to revisit three provisions in the
)onstitution. Under /rticle
= "$#' !arliament is enjoined to make laws to ensure the good
governance o% this
countr. /rticle $$= "L# and "A# in essence re6uire the /ttorne
General to approvean contracts whose value e8ceeds Uganda Shillings
&i%t Million in which public
%unds will be deploed. t is in light o% these provisions that
one must view the !!@/
/ct. The /ct is intended %or oversight on public resources and
as its motives
stipulate in !art I on the 1asic !rinciples o% !rocurement'
ensure value %or mone'
transparenc accountabilit' competition' econom and e+cienc'
%airness' to
mention but a %ew. To dispense with competitive bidding is to
undermine the most
central tenets o% public procurement in the (rst place. n an
event' this usuall
makes more sense %or the smaller projects than %or the larger
ones. This countr is
doing things the other wa round. This is wrong.
The third provision that is important to consider in these sorts
o% circumstances is/rticle $L=. Under this /rticle' an debt
obligation that Government intends to
create must be tabled be%ore !arliament %or approval be%ore it
attaches to
Government. Cowever in cases where the Government is entering
bilateral
arrangements with another countr "in this case !eopleBs Republic
o% )hina# and
subse6uentl e8ecuting Memoranda o% Understanding and
7ngineering'
!rocurement' )onstruction and &inancing /greements with
companies to develop
these projects' it is argued that Government is creating debt
obligations that have
not been approved b !arliament. This o4ends the )onstitution. t
must also be
remembered that under /rticle $ o% the same )onstitution' all
power belongs to the
people who will repa these loans and it is onl (tting that the
have oversight onthe process and that the get the best value %or
their mone.
The argument has been made that parliament itsel% is not immune
to corruption and
the wa its )ommittees handle various matters sometimes leaves a
lot to be
desired. Some have even accused members o% parliament o%
corruption. 1ut the
solution is not to ignore !arliament. The solution is to address
what seems to have
gone wrong. t is argued that %or the above reasons' an amendment
to the !!@/
/ct is imminent in order to dispense with the 78ecutive
@irectorBs powers to consent
to a direct procurement in such large projects that should
attract international
competitive bidding. /lso' it is important to create a sstem
within which the
technical and (nancial soundness o% a project can be tested
rigorousl to ensurethat the countr is getting value %or mone %rom
the best 6uali(ed entit.
Kii5a 1esige has re%erred to these debts as odious.0hile do not
6uite agree with
his brilliantl written analsis o% the situation' argue that the
debts should not be
ignored because o% the amount o% (scal e8posure the have created
%or Uganda. /s
http9::observer.ug:inde8.php2optionNcomOcontentPviewNarticlePidN;;LAQ/uganda
