Kagina warns contractors against using middlemen

Key employees at the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) are under immense pressure from local and international lobby groups to award lofty road construction contracts to particular companies, Allen Kagina, UNRA's executive director has said.

Without mentioning the kingpins running the cartel of lobbyists, who she said are interfering with the procurement process of road construction firms, Kagina said: "money is exchanging hands."

"Interference from lobbyists is a big challenge. Our staff are getting so many calls from people lobbying for contracts. This puts enormous pressure on staff. Money is exchanging hands, an evil that has got to be stopped. Let UNRA do its job," she said, warning contractors against unscrupulous methods of using middlemen.

Kagina, who was today morning giving an overview of UNRA's performance in the financial year 2016/17, said companies that engage middlemen to grab contracts face automatic termination.

Kagina said Police has already been notified about the middlemen factor in the road construction equation.

"Corruption is still a challenge especially at the weighbridges. In collaboration with the UNRA investigation and compliance team, all corruption cases are investigated thoroughly and the involved staff are dealt with accordingly," she said.