KAMPALA – The Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) is at the center of a major procurement scandal after an internal review uncovered procurements worth a staggering Shs 73.365 billion conducted without critical documentation, raising alarms over potential “ghost procurements” and a severe breach of public finance laws.
The discovery, based on a review of completed procurements on the government’s Electronic Government Procurement (eGP) system for the 2023/2024 financial year, revealed that these high-value transactions lacked fundamental records required by law.
According to the findings, the missing documents include:
· Signed contracts for the procurements.
· Contract management information.
· Responsible officers’ signatures on Form 5 (the official procurement requisition form).
· Signed records of bid opening.
· The Solicitor General’s approval.
The absence of these documents is a direct violation of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets (PPDA) Regulations, 2014. Regulation 19 of the PPDA explicitly mandates that a Procurement and Disposal Unit must manage the process up to the point of contract placement and that a User Department must nominate an official to work with the unit on all matters relating to the requirement.
This failure to maintain a complete and accurate procurement record compromises the fundamental principles of transparency and accountability. It renders the procurement process opaque, making it impossible to verify the legitimacy of the contracts, the fairness of the bid opening, or the legality of the expenditures.
The situation undermines effective contract management, as there is no signed basis for holding suppliers accountable, and significantly increases the risk of operational inefficiencies and financial loss for the authority.
The revelation has sparked serious concerns among accountability advocates, who question how billions of shillings could be disbursed without the most basic legal safeguards in place. The UCAA now faces mounting pressure to provide a full explanation, identify the responsible officers, and demonstrate what measures are being taken to recover the funds and ensure such a breach does not recur.
As of now, the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority has not issued an official public statement regarding the findings. The matter is expected to draw the attention of the Inspectorate of Government and Parliament’s Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE).
