UGANDA | PARLIAMENT | MPs | UPPC MACHINE

Officials from the Uganda Printing and Publishing Corporation (UPPC) have had a hard time explaining why the corporation procured a printing machine worth sh2b despite a halt from the minister.

The Minister for the Presidency, Milly Babalanda, informed the MPs on commissions, statutory authorities, and state enterprises that she stopped the procurement of two printing machines after getting reports of corruption and inflated prices.

"When I came in, I was tipped off that the staff had inflated the cost of the printing machines. I immediately stopped it and asked the police to investigate the matter. The police are yet to give me a report," she said.

But upon scrutiny, the MPs discovered that, at the time of stopping the procurement, UPPC had paid the supplier an advance of sh600m. 

Upon further scrutiny, the MPs also learned that the supplier was eventually also given the balance of sh1.4b.

"Can you tell us why you went ahead to pay the supplier even when you knew the minister had raised a red flag on the procurement?" committee chairperson Joel Ssenyonyi said.

UPPC acting managing director Kenneth Oluka said the corporation had plans to purchase two modern printing machines one at shillings two billion and another at shillings 5.6 billion.

He added that following a directive by President Yoweri Museveni that all government printing works be given to UPPC, there was an urgent need for this modern machine.

"Because we badly needed this machine to keep in business, we went back to the minister and asked her to lift the ban and allow us to purchase the first machine, which she eventually did," Oluka said.

On the second machine, Oluka said the process is on and only awaits the new board to approve.

"Then what is the purpose of the investigation when money has already been paid and the procurement process for the second machine is already in an advanced stage," Ssenyonyi said.

"What if the Police found that there's a problem with the costs, are you going to send back the machine? " Ssenyonyi added.

Both Babalanda and Oluka just kept quiet.