Economist, Daniel Lukwago says project delays are still common, in particular for externally funded projects. This is due to weak project planning and development practices.
Planners are being challenged to adhere
to public investment policies if the budgetary allocations are to deliver
expected tangible results.
It is being realized that some of the projects with
budgetary allocations in each financial year delay to take off and thereby defeating
the intended purpose.
Planners are being challenged to adhere
to public investment policies if the budgetary allocations are to deliver
expected tangible results. It is being realized that some of the projects with
budgetary allocations in each financial year delay to take off and thereby defeating
the intended purpose.
The concern was raised by Daniel
Lukwago, an Economist, Policy Analyst and Independent
Consultant. He noted that too many
projects are just stories—stalled due to lack of counterpart funding or poor
planning.
“For example, buildings were
approved during COVID along a planned road. Now they must be removed, raising
costs and delaying implementation.” said Lukwago, also a Consultant with World
Bank.
While Lukwago recognizes reforms
by the ministry of finance to improve public investment management, he said the
good plans have either remained on paper or been overtaken by projects that
were not previously planned for or not approved by the development committee at
the ministry of finance.
The Ministry of Finance has over
the years pledged to strengthen
Public Investment Management (PIM) for Increased Development Returns on Public
Spending. This is aimed at establishing and embedding a
comprehensive project cycle management approach across Government, focusing
initially on selected key sectors.
As part of the reforms, a Development Committee was formed
with in the ministry as a gatekeeper for new investment proposals. Projects
Analysis and Public Investment Department (PAP) were also instituted to improve
the quality of project preparation and appraisal.
“The process looks okay, the systems are there
and on paper, we are doing very well. And some changes happened. But our usual problem
is implementation” said Lukwago.
///Cue In “The Auditor General…
Cue Out…..the project just jumps”///
Lukwago was speaking at a policy
dialogue about the state of Uganda’s economy under the theme “Prudent Fiscal
Management For effective pubic investment and attainment of ten-fold agenda
2040. The dialogue was hosted by Southern and Eastern Africa Trade, Information
and Negotiations Institute (SEATINI).
“Many projects lack multi-year
budgeting. Some are only funded for one year. Without proper counterpart
funding, externally funded projects stall. That’s why last month, many
construction projects were halted—government needed over two trillion.” he
observed.
He said while some of the planned
projects delay to takeoff, Ugandans continue to pay interest on loans approved
by the parliament. This he said is the reason why more than a half of the
coming financial year budget will be used to repay the external debt.
Lukwago observed that absorption
of externally funded projects is very low at about 35%.
“That’s extremely low. Some
projects approved in 2018 were supposed to be completed by 2022, but as of
2025, nothing has happened. That’s public money. That’s the real challenge.”
he said.
“Our systems exist, but the
problem is actualizing them. We need behavior change. In some countries I’ve
visited, enforcement is serious. If you break the law, you pay. There is no
confusion. Things are organized. That’s what we need here.”
///Cue In “I know people blame ……
Cue Out…..what was happening”////
Lukwago’s observation comes as
the Finance Minister, Matia Kasaija prepares to read the 2025/2026 financial
year budget. This year’s budget is estimated at 72.4
trillion shillings ($20 billion). The budget is targeting eighteen projects.
The theme
for the new budget is “Full
monetization of the Ugandan economy through commercial agriculture,
industrialization, expanding and broadening services, digital transformation,
and market access.”
According
to IMF, Uganda has achieved significant improvements in public investment
management (PIM) over the last few years.
It
said as a result of the reform process, Uganda is now well ahead of its
comparators in many aspects of PIM, in particular in institutional design – the
formal framework for infrastructure investment.
“In
the PIMA, Uganda receives high scores on institutional design for eight
institutions: fiscal rules, national and sector planning, project appraisal,
alternative infrastructure financing (the private sector, PPPs, and public
corporations), budget comprehensiveness, project selection, procurement and
portfolio monitoring.” Said one of the IMF reports on Uganda.
It however
noted that many of the reforms are recent and are still not fully
institutionalized.
“The
effectiveness of PIM is therefore lower than the institutional design. These
remaining weaknesses have negative impacts on public investment access and
quality.”
The report titled Uganda: Technical Report - Public
Investment Management Assessment” noted that “Given that effectiveness is
lagging considerably behind the institutional design, there is a clear need to
continue and to further strengthen public investment management in Uganda”
It
notes that project delays are still common, in particular for externally funded
projects. “This is due to weak project planning and development practices, as
well as the lack of a clear legal framework for resolving land use issues” said
the report published in 2022.
“Given
that effectiveness is lagging institutional design, there is a clear need to
further strengthen PIM in Uganda. The high level of public investment and the
plans for continued, rapid expansion of public infrastructure exacerbates the
importance of effective and efficient investments”
The
PIMA provides a set of recommendations that aim at consolidating the existing
PIM reforms and rectifying the areas that have been lagging.
“In
this context, it will be particularly important to improve medium-term
budgeting of investments, to ensure adequate maintenance, and to make portfolio
monitoring more proactive and forward-looking. It is also important to
strengthen the legal framework.”
