MPs give UNRA ultimatum on Entebbe Express Highway report

PIC:The Uganda National Roads Authority boss Allen Kagina appearing before the Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises Committee of Parliament to answer audit queries raised by the Auditor General, at Parliament Photo by Kennedy Oryema

The Parliamentary Committee on Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) has given the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) two weeks to produce a report explaining how one contractor was sourced for the Kampala Entebbe express Highway.

The contractor in question is China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) that is under taking construction works on the express high.

The committee's concern arose from an audit report that identified that the Kampala Express Highway is costing about $2million and the same in in Ethiopia is about 1.4million dollars per kilometer lane.

The Uganda National Roads Authority Allen Kagina (left) while Director Legal Services Mary Kuteesa looks on, while appearing before the Commissions , Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises, to answer audit queries raised by the Auditor General Photo by Kennedy Oryema

 

It was also discovered that company was never subjected to open bidding process instead it was sourced with the assistance of the Ugandan Ambassador to China.

As a result, the company is over charging the country compared to the same distance of road works being carried out in Ethiopia which is wasting  government resources.

Committee member, Nathan Nandala Mafabi, said the right procedure would be for UNRA to travel to China and advertise within China to have several companies compete for job and get it on merit.

Moses Kasibante, another member of the committee wondered why the same company is still carrying out constriction despite the fact that some anomalies sighted both in the procurement process and quality of work. He also said the other projects being carried out by the same company should be checked.

On the issue of Uganda's ambassador taking part in the procurement process, MPs questioned his expertise in sourcing for the company.

"We don't know what expertise the ambassador has. We feel the expertise is with UNRA which would have gone to china to take part in the sourcing," added Kasibante.

Committee chairman Abdu Katuntu ordered the UNRA team to go back and come up with a full report explaining issues surrounding CCCC and the express highway and also a list of people who have been compensated along the high way among other issues.