26 August 2008
editorial
Parliament heard last week that close to Shs20 billion meant to repair rural roads in the country remains unspent because local governments do not have the capacity to absorb the money.
The MPs were also told that according to the Auditor General's report for the financial year ended June 2006, more than 56 districts had failed to account fully for Shs3.2 billion given to them for roads repairs.
These revelations prove that the lack of money is not the only problem facing the roads sector. The government has, rightly, chosen to invest in the country's transport infrastructure to help drive trade, and has put up a record Shs1.1 trillion in this year's budget for the sector.
Money, however, isn't everything. It must be accompanied by clear and well-thought-out plans, sufficient safeguards against graft, and tools to ensure that the country gets value for every shilling spent.
There is sufficient evidence to prove this; despite money being allocated more than a year ago, efforts to replace Uganda's sunken vessels and ensure that the alternative transport route to Tanzania over Lake Victoria is kept open, are yet to bear any fruit.
The Northern Bypass, which is meant to decongest the capital, Kampala, and speed up trade along the northern corridor, is at least two years behind schedule and stuck in a technical dispute that has threatened to turn into a legal wrangle. The problem with the Northern Bypass and other similar projects is not one of money - after all, this was fully funded by the European Union - but poor political supervision.
This newspaper has argued before - and continues to argue - that only a full audit of the processes, players, and people in the roads sector will allow the deep reforms required to bring about efficiency and accountability. The creation of the Uganda Road Fund Agency and the Uganda National Roads Authority are tentative steps in the right direction but they need to be matched with closer scrutiny of the political supervision of the sector.
We can start by pinning those districts that have not accounted for money given to them to produce accountability before they get more money for roads, and punishing their errant accounting officers.
President Yoweri Museveni has previously promised an inquiry into the sector to try and address the chronic issues of inflated contract figures, delayed completion, and graft allegations. Throwing money at the problem as we are doing in the current budget before addressing these issues will only encourage more inefficiency, incompetence and graft.
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