Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC-Central) has tasked the ministry of Finance to provide details of Shs 20.25 billion reportedly spent on fuel, oil and motor vehicle-related costs during the 2024/25 financial year.
The concern was raised on Monday by Mbale Industrial Division MP Karim Masaba as the committee scrutinised the Auditor General’s report for the financial year.
Masaba said the ministry’s trial balance showed Shs 5.05 billion spent on motor vehicle maintenance, Shs 13.9 billion on fuel and oil, and another Shs 1.3 billion on fuel and motor vehicle-related expenditure.
The ministry told the committee that it operates a fleet of 186 motor vehicles and 12 motorcycles. Based on the 186 vehicles, the combined expenditure of Shs 20.25 billion translates into an average of about Shs 108.9 million per vehicle annually, or approximately Shs 298,300 per vehicle per day.
Masaba questioned whether the expenditure represented value for money. The committee, chaired by Patrick Oshabe Nsamba, directed ministry officials to provide supporting documents showing how the money was spent and explain the basis of the figures.
Vehicle costs
The ministry’s under secretary, Edward Sengonzi Damulira, said officials had taken note of the committee’s concerns and would apply the lessons in the next accounting period.
The vehicle expenditure was scrutinised as MPs examined the ministry’s wider spending under goods and services during the year.
Oshabe questioned the level of expenditure given the ministry’s core mandate of economic policy, financial management and treasury operations.
Hilda Nyamaizi, the ministry’s head of accounts, said the expenditure covered a range of activities, including property management, utilities, stationery and other services across the ministry’s departments and units.
Figures presented to the committee show that the ministry spent Shs 160 billion on goods and services during the financial year.
This included Shs 3.028 billion on communications, Shs 8.246 billion on utilities and property expenses, and Shs 11.548 billion on supplies and services.
The ministry also reported spending Shs 91.841 billion on professional services, Shs 59.118 billion on travel and transport, and Shs 6.878 billion on vehicle maintenance.
Oshabe directed ministry officials to provide detailed supporting schedules for the expenditure, particularly on professional services, travel and transport, and motor vehicle-related costs.
The committee also noted an apparent discrepancy between the Shs 5.05 billion motor vehicle maintenance figure cited from the trial balance and the Shs 6.878 billion subsequently reported under vehicle maintenance.
Officials were directed to explain the difference and provide a detailed breakdown to enable the committee to establish the actual cost of running and maintaining the ministry’s fleet and determine whether the expenditure represents value for money.
If Uganda significantly reduced corruption and curbed these kinds of wasteful expenditure, the country would be far ahead in development. Many ordinary citizens own cars and do not spend anything close to this amount on a vehicle every day. This raises serious questions about the accuracy and credibility of the Ministry of Finance’s accounting.
I honestly admire Rwanda’s approach to public-sector accountability. The kind of expenditure and lack of accountability described here would never be tolerated under President Paul Kagame’s leadership and Rwanda’s system of governance. For example, Rwanda has strict limits on the use of official convoys and lead cars, with only the five highest-ranked officials, including the President and Chief Senator, entitled to such arrangements. Ministers in Rwanda travel with their drivers only, with no lead police car, siren, or convoy, and use the road just like ordinary citizens.
In Uganda, by contrast, it has become a norm to see even mere State Ministers, Members of Parliament, senior military officers and various people around those in power travelling in convoys at significant cost to taxpayers.
This is precisely why Rwanda is very clean, well-organized, orderly and functional, while Uganda filthy, poorly organized, and dysfunctional. This difference between Rwanda and Uganda is not simply about resources – Uganda probably has more resources than Rwanda; it is about discipline, accountability and how public institutions are managed.
Wasteful public expenditure in Uganda should be thoroughly scrutinised. Even those in opposition who lead the public accounts committee are very corrupt and accumulate a lot of weath during their term of office- just ask yourself where that wealth comes feom. Taxpayers deserve transparency, accountability and value for money.