Felix Osike And Mary Karugaba
15 May 2008
Kampala — THE Auditor General has instituted an independent probe into the CHOGM road works, The New Vision has learnt. The probe was ordered after it was established that procurement procedures had been flouted and that there were variations in the prices quoted for the different CHOGM roads.
The audit into the CHOGM roads in Kampala and Entebbe is being carried out by COWI Consulting Engineers, a Danish firm. The contracts for the CHOGM roads, amounting to sh21b, were not awarded through competitive bidding, thus denying the Government the benefit of competitive pricing and quality, according to the Auditor General's report, which was sent to the Cabinet.
"A special audit has been commissioned to establish whether funds released on civil works and infrastructure were spent taking into consideration the principle of economy, efficiency and effectiveness."
The report said a number of roads remained uncompleted after CHOGM, although payments had been made to the contractors.
"These should be followed up to ensure that works are completed and accountability tendered."
It also found that some road works started when CHOGM was over, "defeating the objectives for which those funds were budgeted for".
The Auditor General's findings are in line with an earlier report issued by the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority on the roads.
The authority found no records of contracts signed with the companies that repaired the roads. It said the tenders were awarded the same day the procurement process was initiated.
The authority recommended disciplinary action against the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Works, Charles Muganzi, for flouting procurement regulations. Acting roads commissioner A. Mugisha should also be reprimanded for the same reason, it added.
President Yoweri Museveni recently complained of inflated prices in the road construction sector. In a letter to the Prime Minister last week, he vowed to crack down on those in the Government who are colluding with private contractors. "I will hold any individual or government agency that awards contracts at a price that is not in harmony with the market price as a thief for whom punitive action will be reserved," the letter read.
In December 2007, the Cabinet requested the Auditor General to undertake a value-for-money audit on CHOGM activities following complaints from Members of Parliament.
In his report, the Auditor General listed many instances of non-compliance with the laws, which resulted in "funds not accounted for, loss and abuse of public resources".
The Auditor General also found flaws in the payment for beautification works, media services and the purchase of vehicles.
A company contracted to carry out the beautification of the Nsambya-Gaba-Munyonyo-Salama-Kibuye corridor has not completed the works, six months after CHOGM, despite receiving payment for it, the report noted.
Irregularities were also observed in the procurement of CHOGM vehicles.
"The procurement of executive vehicles did not follow the procurement procedures and some were not of agreed specifications."
On media and publicity services, the report established that the South
African firm, Globecast, was paid sh7.8b, without documentation.
Another publicity company, Saatchi & Saatchi, has been paid sh1.4b, out of the contracted sh2.4b, also without supporting documentation.
The audit further revealed that sh9b was diverted from CHOGM funds and spent on non-CHOGM activities. The Ministry of Finance released sh270b last year for CHOGM preparations.
However, several ministries are reporting huge outstanding debts arising from CHOGM. The works ministry has an outstanding debt of sh31b.
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