The Auditor General has delivered a stark assessment of Uganda’s public investment landscape, highlighting systemic inefficiencies and major financial discrepancies that have stalled key government projects.
The Annual Audit Report for the Financial Year ended June 30, 2025, presented to Parliament, revealed a Shs3.2 trillion shortfall—a 24% deficit that has hindered dozens of high-priority initiatives.
Between 2020 and 2025, the government budgeted Shs13.3 trillion for 106 solely GoU-funded projects, yet only Shs10.07 trillion was disbursed, leaving many developments in financial limbo.
“It is apparent that the project portfolio's performance is below average, due to evident implementation challenges encountered during execution,” Auditor General Edward Akol stated.
The report notes that of 36 projects scheduled for exit from the Public Investment Plan, only five were successfully completed, while many others “reached their terminal dates in vain” or showed no progress by the end of the fiscal year.
Key challenges cited include land acquisition hurdles, cash flow constraints, and delays in completing project designs, leaving 60 projects stalled despite retention in the plan.
Akol also raised concerns over government oversight, noting no evidence in the Integrated Bank of Projects (IBP) of evaluations linking completed or downgraded projects to planned outputs, outcomes, or impacts.
Despite these challenges, the government launched 149 new GoU-funded projects worth Shs19.584 trillion at the start of the new financial year, highlighting a disconnect between project approval processes and fiscal realities.
In response, the Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury (PS/ST) said a framework has been issued to track project implementation and performance, while the IBP is being upgraded to enable real-time reporting on financial and physical progress.
Akol urged strict adherence to this framework to fast-track effective project execution and safeguard the intended socio-economic benefits.
“Compliance with the framework is essential to ensure projects achieve their objectives and avoid further administrative inertia and fiscal overextension,” the report concluded.
