Kampala — MPS on the information and communication technology committee yesterday grilled ministers and officials from the information and communication technology (ICT) ministry over the botched $10m national IT project.

The project, aimed at establishing IT centres in selected districts and eventually wiring the entire country, has been rendered ineffective by incompetence, the MPs noted.

This was after a researcher who was sent by the committee to verify the existence of the centres showed the committee a footage showing unconnected computers lying on floors, other gadgets still packed in boxes and lamenting managers.

The managers complained that when the computers were supplied they were not connected. The furniture was not delivered and no Internet servers were provided.

The MPs queried ICT minister Aggrey Awori and state minister Alintuma Nsambu about the criteria they used in tendering out the supplies, and why the suppliers had not connected the computers.

Awori admitted that the computers were delivered late and left unconnected. He also told the MPs that the ICT ministry was not part of the report. Awori asked for time to study the report and come up with a concrete defence of the project.

He also said they would blacklist the contractors of the project for not doing what was expected. "Instead of supplying and installing, they only did the supplying. This was wrong and they have got to explain," he said

Committee chairman Igeme Nabeta gave the officials two days to defend the project before the MPs make their report to plenary.