The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Co-operatives has insisted that all the procurement activities that were carried out were within the law.
It refuted the allegation of changing the work plan and diverting resources.
The Ministry is at the centre of attention following an interaction with the Parliamentary Committee on Trade, Industry and Tourism.
The discussion focused on issues of renovation of office spaces and procurement of ministerial vehicles.
Witnesses, including Principal Assistant Secretary Everest Ahimbisibwe and the former head of procurement, accused Geraldine Ssali, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of cancelling the procurement process for five new ministry vehicles and fraudulently finding a new supplier.
The five vehicles that Ssali procured were described as old and at a rate of Shs600m each, rather than their approved rate of Shs500m.
The committee's findings also suggested that the Ministry diverted Shs5 billion from funds meant for relocation to renovating the existing structure, contrary to the originally planned Shs3.1 billion.
In a statement, Ssali, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry explained that the ministry received a supplementary budget of Shs 5 billion to procure new office space for the Ministry as the current office spaces were deemed dilapidated.
The ministry had initially justified that a further Shs 3 billion would be needed for partitioning and Shs 2 billion for furniture.
She said the team weighed all options and decided to renovate the current office space at a much lower cost than incurring recurrent costs on rent annually.
"The Ministry received clearance from the Solicitor General regarding the procurement method. If the funds were not used, they had to be returned to the Treasury as required by law under non-absorption of funds," she said.
According to Ssali, the whole objective of the exercise was to save costs, considering that the government is currently undertaking a rationalisation of government agencies programme to save on costs like rent of government office space.
She further noted that Shs 2.8 billion was provided in the financial year 2021/2022 for the purchase of new vehicles for the top management at the Ministry.
Ssali further noted that the current vehicles provided were obsolete, often broke down and sometimes caused embarrassment to the ministers and the Permanent Secretary.
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She refuted the allegations of fraud and diverting of resources.
"In one incident, one (vehicle) almost caught fire while a minister was travelling to his constituency. The vehicles procured had full inspection reports from the Ministry of Works and Transport. All the vehicles were brand new," she said.
She said the procurement of the motor vehicles was done through open domestic bidding and was compliant with PPDA act and all government procurement laws.
She said the best-evaluated bidder was awarded the contract to deliver five motor vehicles, station wagons within the threshold of the procurement budget.
She assured the Ugandans that the ministry continues to take all concerns in good faith and is available to provide any information to the government bodies that wish to be brought up to speed on developments.
She said the ministry's objective is to improve the livelihood and working conditions of the staff.
She said the ministry's decision to renovate the dilapidated office spaces and purchase new vehicles for top management is aimed at improving the working conditions of staff in the Ministry.
Ssali explained that the ministry's approach to these issues was informed by a need to save costs and in line with the government's objective to rationalise government agencies.
She said the ministry will continue to work with relevant government bodies to provide them with the necessary information needed to carry out their duties effectively.
