By Otim Nape
As reported in our part I of this news feature, Kisamba Mugerwa’s NPA that is statutorily mandated to monitor and report on government performance has released a report/score card (technically called Certificate of Compliance) exposing the extent to which Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) have let down the President regarding service delivery to citizens. In this article, we summarize what Kisamba reports about different Ministries and Agencies. From the very onset, Kisamba in a veiled way faults Parliament for failing to ensure the following ministries are funded to the levels envisaged in the NDP II; Agriculture, Energy, Works & Transport, Tourism, Trade & Industry and Water and Environment. He observes that the FY2017/18 budget performance is worse than the preceding year because the projects funded under the Annual Budget (AB) and the National Budget Framework Paper (NBFP) aren’t sufficiently linked or aligned to the NDP II.
He says areas that increase our competitiveness as an attractive investment destination weren’t sufficiently funded viz: industrial parks, business registration centers, recapitalizing UDB with Shs500bn and subsequently the doing global business report index ranked Uganda as number 122 out of 190 economies that were assessed in 2017. In 2016, Uganda was number 115 best but deteriorated in 2017 because, according to Kisamba, we didn’t adequately invest in interventions that increase our competitiveness. Apart from women and youth entrepreneurship programs in the gender ministry, we didn’t fund drivers of job creation. Swamp and forest recovery wasn’t funded enough. Failure to allocate adequate resources into Local Economic Development (LED) interventions (to agencies like the OPM) has hampered interventions meant to address income inequality arising from historical injustices and exclusion for areas like Luwero triangle, Rwenzori, Karamoja and the North.
Other ignored areas are; value addition, proper prioritization of SAGE project for the elderly, the mineral sector, funding the maintenance of rural feeder roads, water transport, extension of NBI to local governments to increase their internet connectivity, SGR, ICT innovation incubation centers, early childhood development, skills development, teacher recruitment, quality of civil service and public service reforms. In the general introductory part of his CoC, Kisamba enumerates and scores many other areas of poor budget performance under the FY2017/18. These include; urbanization (50), industrialization (50%) and skills development (58%). He says for the skills gap, we must fast track the establishment of 5 centers of excellence, finance agro-processing and mineral beneficiation to address the industrialization gap.
We must increase funding for the ICT connectivity, urban planning and public sector efficiency to increase our competitiveness regionally and globally. We need to fill the skills gap to increase local content (talent) take up/employability in mineral, oil and gas, energy and transport infrastructure. NDP II core projects implementation is alarmingly poor; Kisamba says for example in MAAIF, of the five core projects some two (Storage Infrastructure/the silos and Tororo Phosphates industry) haven’t been prioritized at all in the AB. For tourism marketing and promotion, Muhakanizi’s MoFPED released far much less funds than was approved in the budget! In energy, the 2017/18 AB was only NDP II-compliant on just 2 (oil refinery & Albertine region roads) out of the 6 core projects. There was no prioritization for strategic mineral projects covering iron ore and steel industries yet these two have a lot of potential. Human Capital Development core projects like mass treatment of malaria for prevention wasn’t adequately funded. Under Economic Management & Accountability (SEMMA), funds weren’t allocated and UDB, for which NDP II recommends recapitalization of Shs500bn, not much was allocated of the Shs50bn that was approved under the FY2017/18.
THE DIFFERENT MINISTRIES:
VINCENT SEMPIJJA’S MAAIF; In the preceding two FY (2015/6 & 2016/7), the performance was respectively 56.1% and 57% but in FY2017/8, it has collapsed to 50.9%. Kisamba’s NPA score card attributes this decline on “poor budget releases and poor project performance” by the MAAIF technocrats. Of the 56 MAAIF projects prioritized under the NDP II, only 37 are actively in the PIP and are ongoing. The remaining 19 (34%) have not even been developed. Donor projects therein have been allocated with substantial resources but “they face delayed approval and implementation.” Sempijja and his PS are faulted for failing to increase agricultural mechanization, access to fertilizers, access to water for agricultural production and failure to establish storage facilities (silos) to reduce post-harvesting losses. They are also faulted for operating a single spine extension services system, failing to promote sustainable land use/soil management and failing to deepen access to and application of ICTs to facilitate the sharing of marketing information. The other weak areas are failing to operationalize the commercialization fund and increasing access to agricultural financial services. MAAIF has had many challenges not least of them being the infighting between the ministers (political leaders Kabatsi & Sempijja over the issue of NAGRIC for example) and also between top seasoned technocrats some of whom have protestingly opted for early retirement!!
AMELIA’S TRADE & INDUSTRY; In the preceding two FYs, the ministry including tourism (now under Prof Ephraim Kamuntu) scored 58.3% and 53.4% before dropping to 48.5% in Kisamba’s latest (FY2017/18) score card. This is attributed to the fact that most of the MDAs thereunder operate without approved work plans and even at the sectoral/ministry level, not a single development plan exists. The sector has 11 MDAs (MTAC, MTWA, UNBS, UWEC, UTB, MTIC, UEPB, UDC, HTTI, UWRTI & UWA) of which only 4 (MTIC, MTWA, UNBS & UWEC) have approved strategic plans that dully comply with the NDP II. The 7 agencies (UEPB, UDC, HTTI, UWRTI, UWA, Steven Asiimwe’s UTB & MTAC) don’t have any strategic plans and one wonders how they operate expecting to significantly contribute to national development in a manner that is consistent with the NDP. Having a strategic plan also enhances resource mobilization and makes it easy for top management to set targets for staff and enforce their delivery. The ministry’s biggest failure is manifested in failing to establish satellite border markets, scaling up value addition & collective marketing, establishing integrated steel and iron industry, zonal agro-processing, failure to establish agricultural commodity marketing fund, establishing the required utilities and ICT-related services to support tourism sites, re-establishment of cooperatives-based inputs delivery systems and failure to fast-track the revitalization of Uganda Development Corporation (UDC).
MULONI’S ENERGY MINISTRY; The sector’s past two years performance was 53% and 64.5% respectively but in the FY2017/18, it has declined to 41.9%. Gratefully at the sector level, a comprehensive Strategic Development Plan (SDP) exists but the CEOs for some of the line agencies (MDAs) are so inept they don’t appreciate the need to have approved strategic plans for their agencies and as such they don’t have any. The sector has the following agencies operating without any approved working plans; UEGCL, UEDCL, REA and the regulator ERA. Muloni is also faulted for failing or refusing to prioritize the necessary interventions in the minerals subsector. The ministry has also suffered low budget releases and Kisamba notes this has greatly affected project execution. Failure to adequately exploit/utilize Karamoja’s mineral potential and failing to have the mining certification institution have greatly contributed to the Ministry’s miserable 41% performance rating in the FY2017/18. Failure to have in place of the petroleum refinery and other subsidiary infrastructure, the NDP II envisages to be in place by now, too has diminished the ministry’s rating in Kisamba’s score card. There are also contradictions-regarding output targets-in the ministry’s SDP on the need to be consistent with budgeting instruments like the Budget Framework Paper (BFP). Project execution has also been hampered by low absorption capacity of the funds allocated. Muhakanizi’s low budget releases have also hampered progress; for example of the funds the FY2017/18 AB allocated for the electrification of Industrial Parks and Muzizi HPP, the PSST only released 25% “and only 5% of the released [25%] funds was spent by the end of quarter 2.” All this, combined with the politically very sensitive UMEME crisis, make things indeed very complicated for the amiable Lady Engineer Irene Muloni.
ACENG’S HEALTH MINISTRY; In the FY2015/16, the ministry scored 52.9% and 51% in the FY2016/17 which has slightly improved in FY2017/18 to just 51.7%. The ministers are Jane Ruth Aceng, Sarah Opendi and Joyce Kaducu Moriku. The P/S or accounting officer is Dr. Diana Atwine, making it completely a ladies’ affair. They have improved in many areas including checking on wastage under fleet management, eliminated corruption and wasteful spending on top of getting rid of infighting and intrigue which had become order of the day in the preceding years. It’s naturally a difficult sector because it’s at the fore front of service delivery-and it’s impossible to totally do away with public dissatisfaction. Kisamba’s report card shows there has been “stagnation” at this all important ministry largely because of low budget absorption by the subordinate institutions especially projects. That gratefully 21 out of the 24 (87.5%) of the health sector MDAs have approved strategic plans. The three agencies that don’t have strategic plans include Dr. Byaruhanga Baterana’s Mulago NRH, Fort Portal RRH and Kabale RRH. That the ministry has failed in the following areas; implementing the Community Health Workers’ Strategy (CHEWS) and financial risk protection of the households against impoverishment due to health expenditures. The NDP II anticipates the MoH to mitigate against this through the implementation of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). Other areas of failure include Performance-based Financing (PBF), mass malaria treatment for prevention and failing to address key determinants of health through strengthening inter-sectoral collaboration and partnerships. Attraction, recruitment and retention of senior and consultant level staff remains a very big challenge for this inadequately-funded ministry. The projects too aren’t being properly implemented and there is low absorption of project funds. For instance, Kisamba writes that of the Shs0.2bn released to rehabilitate Soroti RRH in the FY2017/18, only 20% had been spent as of Q2. There is another Shs0.14bn that was planned and received to support the SRRH project, but on which only 0% had been spent as of Q2. “A number of projects that had been planned for the FY2017/18 had not started by half year,” the CoC disapprovingly says of the MoH.
SAM CHEPTORUS’S WATER MIN; In the two FYs preceding FY2017/18, the sector scored 55.7% and 51.8% respectively which this FY has dropped to 51.2%. Kisamba gives kudos to Cheptorus for the fact that all his MDAs have well approved and aligned Strategic Development Plans. But the sector suffered poor budget releases and expenditure. The ministry has so far accessed only 68% of its approved FY2017/18 budget. For its agencies, it’s even worse e.g. NEMA has only accessed 39% of its approved budget, NFA 36% and Uganda Meteorology Authority is at 29%. Consequently by half year, all the MDAs had spent less than 90% of their budget outturn. The bad sector areas include failure to develop ecosystem management and restoration plans; failure to develop wetland management plans for equitable use of wetland resources all over the country; failure to have in place a national wetlands-specific law; failure to compile statistics on area (Ha) of planted forest plantations and preserved by NFA. Others are inadequate sensitization of communities regarding tourism activities around the forested areas.
MONICA AZUBA’S WORKS; In the preceding two FYs, the sector scored 72.4% and 55% respectively. In 2017/18 it has grown to 58%. None of the MDAs has an approved SDP and these include UNRA, Uganda Road Fund, Uganda Railways Corporation and Civil Aviation Authority. Poor release and expenditure of funds has greatly hampered projects performance. For instance in the FY2017/18, Shs72.5bn was approved but only Shs20bn (28%) had been released by quarter 2. And regarding the Kibuye-Busega-Mpigi Express way, for which Shs118.16bn was approved, PSST Keith hasn’t released anything up to this day. There are a number of NDP II-compliant interventions that have been well planned but can’t be implemented because they have so far attracted zero funding. These include promoting vehicle efficiency technologies, reviewing road construction standards & designs, improving institutional planning, monitoring & performance evaluation, installation of navigation aids on all inland waterways and advocacy and awareness creation regarding railway and water transport safety mechanisms. Delayed compensation of the Projects Affected Persons (PAPs) greatly hurt performance in the sector, Kisamba admits. Consequently 53% of all the planned/approved projects in the sector stagnated because of land acquisition-related disputes. Kisamba more specifically shows that of the 67 projects meant to be executed this FY, 32 (47.8%) are at stagnated at land acquisition stage because of the unreasonable compensation claims by the would-be PAPs. Even the 27 (40%) of the 67 projects that kicked off are terribly behind schedule while on two projects of the 67, nothing has been done so far.
JANET MUKWAYA’S GENDER; In 2015/16, the sector scored 65.1%; 57.7% in 2016/17 and has now grown to 65%. The ministers are Peace Mutuzo, Janet Mukwaya and Nakiwala Kiyingi wholly making it a women affair. Their PS is the workaholic Pius Bigirimana. The Gender ministry has no SDP yet its home to 13 projects under the NDP II. Kisamba wonders why a project called Chemical Safety & Security (CHESASE) is hidden in PIP and isn’t anywhere reflected under NDP II. By the end of 2nd quarter, Equal Opportunities Commission had received 50% of its approved budget and prudently absorbed 98% while its mother ministry of gender had so far received less than 50% of its allocated budget and spend 92% of the same. The bad points include failing to establish a modern cultural center, failure to eliminate child marriages and failure to develop a national sexual harassment policy and failing to expand library information services, strengthen legal and policy framework for culture and creative industries.
FRANK TUMWEBAZE’S ICT MIN; In the latest Kisamba ranking, this ministry has dropped to 49.8% compared to 50.8% of the FY2016/17 and 68.6% of the FY2015/16. At planning level, the ministry for which Vincent Waiswa Bagire is PS, is scored 100% by Kisamba because all its MDAs’ plans are NDP II-compliant. The MDAs include NITA, UCC, POSTA and UICT. However, the overall score of 49.8% was due to low release and absorption capacity of the sector. For instance of the sector’s budget, 41.7% was released by PSST and received but only 71.8% of that was spent/absorbed. Besides the weak project performance, the sector also registered other weaknesses including not investing in ICT innovations & research, not operationalizing the government Citizens interaction center, not turning the postal network into a one stop center for government services and failing to transform the Uganda Institute of Information & Communication Technology at Nakawa into center of excellence for ICT training.
AMONGIN’S LANDS MINISTRY; In the preceding two FYs, the sector scored as follows: 41.3% in 2015/6 and 65.3% in the FY 2016/17 but has now declined to 52.9% in the FY2017/18. The ministry has a well approved SDP but ULC, which is a major component there, has a SDP which isn’t at all aligned to the national development objectives envisioned in the NDP II. That 62% of the NDP II-related ideas are yet to be developed into bankable projects. Other not so good areas include failure to operationalize the National Land Fund to improve the poor’s access to land, develop a real estate policy, failure to provide for government institutions’ housing needs to support key sectors like mining, oil & gas and infrastructure corridors. The ministry leadership is also faulted for the decision by ULC to spend billions of shillings got through a supplementary budget to compensate the Church of Uganda for their lost land at Entebbe International Airport and Nsambya. Kisamba’s NPA considers this improper because the activity on which the billions were spent had nothing to do with NDP II. “The cross-cutting issues are completely not funded,” the CoC reads in part.
KATUREEBE’S JLOS SECTOR; The sector in the preceding two years scored 71% and 70.4% but has now dropped to 57% in the FY2017/18. The sector is nevertheless rated favorably because it has a well aligned SDP but the same can’t be said of 4 of its 17 MDAs. The 4 MDAs without SDPs are Kahinda Otafiire’s Justice Ministry, Twebaze Bemanya’s URSB, Mike Chibita’s DDP and Frank Othembi’s LDC. JSC and DCIC are some of the agencies accused of low fund absorption and the JSC accounting officer is Dr. Nassali Lukwago. Whereas many of the JLOS sector institutions fully got their releases, a good number of them haven’t spent more than 10% of the funds released. “Of the total MTEF approved vote budget of Shs1,152bn, Shs618bn was released of which only Shs564bn was spent by half year,” the NPA dossier observes. Yet that isn’t all; most of the programs and sub programs for the most JLOS MDAs still capture lower level outputs. “Program-based budgeting has not yet delivered the results it was intended for. A review of the MDA budgets for the previous years’ indicates that most MDAs have only renamed outputs into programs and sub programs. Therefore most institutional budgets don’t show over all contribution to development results,” Kisamba disapprovingly reports about JLOS that brings together the judiciary, prisons, DPP, UPF, UPDF and other agencies. It’s funded by mostly EU and it’s a project many thought it had registered significant achievements for the country.
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION: Under this vast docket, you have a total of 4 MDAs of which only Sam Kutesa’s foreign affairs ministry has a well aligned SDP. The others that don’t have and they include Easter Mbayo’s Office of the President, Museveni’s State House and Sam Rwakojo’s Electoral Commission. Kisamba further reports that leaders in this sector have delivered services that are below the 21st century standards envisioned under the NDP II and faults the sector for failing to implement the national service program to strengthen patriotism. Mbayo is also faulted for failing to roll out a capacity building program for the RDCs. MDAs under this sector are faulted for low funds absorption rate coupled with limited releases by PSST Muhakanizi. Projects like the EC and the Ugandan mission in Beijing were deliberately starved of funds by the PSST. And yet a number of projects aren’t captured in the PIP examples being the construction of headquarters, regional and district offices for the EC. The sector previous performance has been as follows; 58.3% in the FY2015/16, 67.7% in the FY2016/17 and 50.1% of the ongoing FY2017/18.
KADAGA’S PARLIAMENT; This is how the legislature, whose accounting officer is Jane Kibirige who just recently got a new contract, has performed in the last three FYs; 70.3% in the FY2015/16, 61% in the FY2016/17 and 52.8% now in the ongoing FY2017/18. On matters regarding having a well aligned SDP, the sector scores 100% just like Tumwebaze’s ICT Ministry. Kisamba regrettably notes: “The reverse in performance is because the sector scored zero percent on project performance.” The sector failed to spend over 90% of the released funds. “In addition the sector is still very weak at prioritization of key NDP II interventions in both BFP and AB. The 0% is a result of receiving more than the expected resources by half year and failure to fully spend the released resources.” Other areas of non-compliance include failing to adequately institute a system linking the district LGs, constituencies and the national parliament. There is also failing to enact laws that can strengthen the credibility of the electoral process and failure to review legislation to facilitate elimination of corruption and promote human rights observance in the operations of government.
ACCOUNTABILITY SECTOR; The past three year’s performance is as follows; 41.3% in FY2015/16; 70% in FY2016/17 and now 55.7% in the FY2017/18. The drop in performance resulted from low performance in the planning process. The sector has 21 MDAs of which 8 have no single SDP. There was also very low absorption of the released funds whereby agencies like DEI and PPDA got 100% releases by the 2nd quarter but up to this day have spent 0%. For PPDA is has most likely got to do with the absence of a substantive CEO there. The best performing three of the 21 agencies are URA, UBOS and the Lady Irene Mulyagonja’s IG which respectively have spent 100%, 95.7% and 96.3% of the funds released to them so far.
PUBLIC SECTOR MGT; Here you have agencies like NPA, East African Ministry, OPM, Ministry of Public Service, Local Government Financing Commission, PSC and MoLG. Only 4 agencies here have approved SDPs namely NPA, MEACA, OPM and Catherine Musingwire Birakwate’s Public Service Ministry. The defaulters that don’t have include; LGFC, PSC and MoLG. There is absence of sector-wide SDP and this is how the PSM sector has performed previously; 50.7% in FY2015/16; 62.7% in the FY 2016/17 and 47.8% in the FY2017/18. This is attributed to low releases (32.4% of the approved funds) coupled by underutilization (88.9%) of the little that has been released. The sector is faulted for failing to develop national value systems, failing to revive community mobilization systems in the LGs, failing to provide early warning messages, failing to have a road map for EAC political federation, failure to re-design the decentralization architecture to provide for sustainable LG financing and strengthen local tax administration while exploring new avenues to widen and deepen local revenue bases.
DEFENSE & SECURITY SECTOR; In the FY2015/16, the sector scored 61% and 63.9% before jumping to 67.7% in the ongoing FY2017/18. Though the mother ministry of defense has a SDP that is well approved and aligned to the NDP II, the sister agencies like ESO and ISO don’t have such a thing. The sector in its mother SDP prioritizes many of the NDP II interventions but many of them remain unfunded. Of the 23 NDP II-compliant projects in Defense, only 5 (21%) are funded and integrated in PIP. These include the defense ministry’s retooling project, defense equipment project, UPDF peace keeping mission, ESO strengthening and ISO strengthening. The areas of failures include failing to establish the National Defense College (NDC) and the Institute of Strategic Studies (ISS). The others are failing to review and harmonize the R & D Policy, absence of an incentive/rewards mechanism for innovative and prototype development, failing to facilitate Defense Research, Science & Technology Center (DRSTC) at Lugazi on top of Avionics Research Center at Nakasongola. Kisamba also decries lack of funding for the military to participate in industrialization and lack of budgetary commitments to roll out the National Service. The cross-cutting issues are totally unbudgeted for. Kisamba also decries the very costly and unbudgeted for withdrawal of UPDF from Central African Republic between August and October 2017. He says much as this was done under the auspices of the AU Regional Task Force (AURTF) disengagement plan, it has negatively impacted on the implementation of other activities that had been planned for in order to fulfill the NDP II. When it comes to Tom Butiime’s LGs, the CoC report shows that there was “improvement due to the LGs’ proper progression in finalizing their Development Plans and having them approved and the good release performance [by the PSST Keith Muhakanizi].” The LGs performance is captured as follows; 51.8% in FY2016/17 which has now improved to 62.2% partly because of the capacity building efforts the new PS Ben Kumumanya has undertaken through his regular meetings and interfaces with both political and technical leaders of the LGs. As for the entire economy, this is how the performance has been fluctuating for the last three years; 68.3% in the FY2015/16, 58.8% in the FY 2016/17 and now declining to 54% in the ongoing/ending FY 2017/18. For comments, call/text/whatsapp us on 0703164755!
