One of the major news stories outside of politics in the Ugandan media is about roads. A judicial Commission of Inquiry is probing the affairs of the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA). UNRA is the agency that was set up to build good roads and bridges to ensure value for taxpayers’ money. Now we are served stories of alleged kickbacks, abuse of office, influence peddling, corruption, impunity and outright theft, on a daily basis.
This is not new. In the past, we have had similar stories from similar commissions set up to probe the police, and Uganda Revenue Authority, among others. It is the same script with different actors. Ministers give directives outside of standard procedure. Money is diverted or stolen. There is inflation of price to enable lining of the pockets of officials. Contractors are preferred because of their propensity to pay those who award the contracts and then make up for the payment by doing shoddy work. The supervisors of the contract; already compromised then look the other way and life goes on. Read more
This is not new. In the past, we have had similar stories from similar commissions set up to probe the police, and Uganda Revenue Authority, among others. It is the same script with different actors. Ministers give directives outside of standard procedure. Money is diverted or stolen. There is inflation of price to enable lining of the pockets of officials. Contractors are preferred because of their propensity to pay those who award the contracts and then make up for the payment by doing shoddy work. The supervisors of the contract; already compromised then look the other way and life goes on. Read more
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