The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has questioned the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development over abandoned rural electrification projects worth more than Shs 17 billion, with lawmakers demanding explanations on stalled works, contractor performance and the award of new tenders to firms accused of failing previous assignments.
During a heated committee session, ministry officials and representatives of four private contractors linked to the former Rural Electrification Agency (REA) were tasked to account for incomplete last-mile electricity connectivity projects across several districts.
Appearing before the committee for the fourth time, Energy ministry officials faced scrutiny over projects that received billions of shillings in public funds but remain incomplete years after their scheduled completion dates.
Mutiko Technical Services was the first contractor to face questions over a Shs 10 billion electricity connectivity project covering Kayunga, Lugazi and Kamuli districts.
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The contract, awarded under REA, was scheduled for implementation between 2019 and June 2021.
The company received more than Shs 6.2 billion but the project stalled at about 60% completion, prompting MPs to question why government resources had been committed to a project that remained unfinished.
The contractor blamed delays on the COVID-19 pandemic and rising costs of construction materials, but lawmakers rejected the explanation, arguing that implementation challenges had emerged before the pandemic.
"You are using COVID-19 as just an excuse," MP Patrick Oshabe Nsamba, chairperson of the committee, told the contractor, saying ministry records showed that performance problems existed before the pandemic disruptions.
"The letter you have shows you already had failures of implementation. You cannot keep reasoning failures over COVID when finances were disbursed," he said.
Mutiko Technical Services defended its performance, saying it had procured about 75% of the required construction materials and installed key infrastructure, including a transformer at Maj. Gen. Rusoke's factory, before the contract was terminated over slow progress.
However, MPs raised concern over allegations that the company removed electricity poles from project sites after termination of the contract.
The committee also questioned how Mutiko Technical Services continued securing contracts from other government entities, including the Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL), despite concerns over its performance on ministry projects.
MP Nsamba questioned the effectiveness of government systems for monitoring contractors.
"It is unclear how a contractor misbehaves and runs to the parastatals from the ministry and gets okayed to do projects without capacity," he said.
The committee directed the company to provide a written explanation detailing how it obtained contracts from other state agencies.
The MPs also questioned Global Komulo JV over a Shs7.5 billion electrification project covering Butambala, Gomba, Masaka and Rakai districts.
The project, awarded in 2019 and expected to be completed by 2021, received four extensions before the contract expired in 2023 without a completion certificate.
Lawmakers questioned why a joint venture without adequate capacity was awarded a major infrastructure contract, pointing to communities that remained without electricity despite nearby power infrastructure developments.
The contractor, represented by Tom Oluka, blamed delays on government funding challenges, saying delayed payments forced the company to rely on bank loans that accumulated high interest costs.
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Energy Ministry Permanent Secretary Irene Batebe told the committee that capital-intensive projects often face implementation challenges due to funding constraints.
She said contractors are subjected to technical evaluations in line with the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets (PPDA) framework before being awarded contracts.
"Most of the projects are capital-intensive," Batebe said, adding that the ministry was working to address pending projects within its annual budget allocation of about Shs 200 billion.
However, MPs insisted that the ministry must strengthen oversight of contractors and explain why firms that fail to deliver public projects continue receiving government assignments while many rural communities remain without electricity.
