Kampala: Parliament has adopted a report on the Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) with cases of financial mismanagement, missing wagons, disputed procurement deals, and the loss and encroachment of railway land. Presenting the report, the Chairperson of the Committee on Physical Infrastructure, Hon. Mwine Mpaka, stated that public funds meant to revive the railway had been misused to benefit consultants and foreign firms.
According to African Press Organization, the report, adopted during a session chaired by Speaker Jacob Marksons Oboth, focused on a Shs125 billion Spanish-funded railway project with a Shs20.8 billion capacity-building component. The committee discovered that nearly 90 percent of the capacity building funds amounting to Euros4.33 million were allocated to five foreign experts, some of whom received up to Euros32,500 (Shs140 million) monthly.
The report also disclosed that some URC employees were allegedly listed as foreign experts to access higher payments while continuing to receive their regular local salaries of approximately Shs6.5 million. Additionally, the committee found that Spanish firm Consultrans S.A.U., which designed the project feasibility study and assessed URC's capacity needs, subsequently awarded the works contract to its sister company, Imathia Construction, through direct procurement.
Further irregularities included multi-day workshops being shortened to one-day refresher courses, Euros79,500 claimed for overseas back-office travel, project-funded second-hand pickup trucks sold to staff, and Euro60,000 intended for office furniture being used to furnish offices occupied by Spanish consultants. Hon. Mpaka noted that these findings raised serious concerns about the management of URC assets.
URC cannot account for its own land, its land titles, or its rolling stock, Mpaka said, warning that the disappearance and disposal of wagons raised issues of criminal liability. The report highlighted that the corporation holds 20,848 acres of land, of which 1,983 acres remain untitled and are affected by over 24,653 encroachment cases.
Moreover, 62 railway land titles misplaced by the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development during office relocations have not been returned despite reminders dating back to 2016, Mpaka added. The committee found that only 269 km of URC's 1,266 km network is operational, with fleet availability at 22 percent for locomotives, 36 percent for coaches, and 30 percent for operational wagons.
The report also uncovered that 112 wagons remain unaccounted for after being routed to a virtual station in Nyahururu, Kenya, under the tracking system used by the former Rift Valley Railways. URC sold 152 wagons domestically as scrap and another 28 in Tanzania, but official records could not account for 82 of the scrap wagons, resulting in a direct financial loss of Shs2.4 billion.
The adopted report directs the Inspectorate of Government (IGG) to investigate and prosecute members of URC's Adhoc Board of Survey, Contracts Committee, and Procurement and Disposal Unit implicated in the irregular disposal of scrap wagons and the resulting financial losses. The IGG was also instructed to investigate former URC Managing Director David Musoke Bulega, contract managers, and members of management over payments for unexecuted services, questionable travel claims, unprocured software, vehicle misappropriation, and contractual terms that resulted in URC losing ownership of the concrete sleeper plant.
One of the recommendations mandates the Ministries of Lands and that of Works and Transport to submit a joint railway-land recovery strategy within 30 days, including actions with police and military support, where necessary, to remove 1,698 identified encroachers. The Minister of State for Transport, Hon. Julius Maganda, acknowledged the extent of URC's decline but claimed the government is now working to revive the corporation.
Hon. Joseph Ssewungu (NUP, Kalungu West) called for openness and frankness in discussions on the rehabilitation of the railway. Speaker Oboth urged the ministry to replace URC's old coaches and increase the frequency of passenger services.
The Minister of State for Industry stated that the Executive will respond to the report through a Treasury Memorandum.