PARLIAMENT — Kabarole District Woman Member of Parliament Hon. Pamela Annet Kirungi has raised concern over several high-value government projects and assets that remain incomplete, idle, underutilised or defective despite significant public expenditure.
Kirungi made the submission before Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) while highlighting key findings contained in the Auditor General’s report relating to the tourism, wildlife and business facilitation sectors.
“These are high-value items that are either incomplete and/or not utilised,” Kirungi told the committee, drawing attention to projects where government investment has not yet translated into the intended public benefit.
Among the projects she highlighted was the Uganda Business Facilitation Centre (UBFC) in Kololo, which, according to the Auditor General’s findings presented to the committee, was occupied without formal commissioning and handover by the Ministry of Finance. The facility was intended to bring key business-related agencies under one roof.
Kirungi also raised concerns over the Crested Crane Hotel in Jinja, noting that equipment, furniture and fittings had not been installed by September 2025, despite the facility being intended to serve as a three-star training hotel.
She further pointed to challenges affecting the Electronic Document Management System (EDMS), which she said was disrupted by power interruptions and lacked a lifecycle plan for its servers. At the Uganda Hotel and Tourism Training Institute, she cited the underutilisation of a demonstration kitchen because the protection system had not been upgraded to accommodate the power supply requirements.
The MP also highlighted concerns at the Uganda Wildlife Research and Training Institute, where GIS laboratory equipment valued at about Shs1.2 billion had remained idle for more than 12 months. At the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre, she cited an African hunting dog exhibit that had been constructed, but no animals had been acquired for the facility.
Kirungi further drew the committee’s attention to a training hotel boat that had remained incomplete for six years and subsequently required re-engineering, a tourism information system valued at Shs1.275 billion that was still hosted on a vendor’s domain, and a boat valued at about Shs905 million that had remained unused for more than a year. She also cited the closure of a national museum among the issues requiring attention.
Kirungi’s submission has placed the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities and other responsible government agencies under scrutiny over the management and utilisation of public investments. The concerns before PAC raise questions about project completion, asset utilisation, maintenance and whether taxpayers are receiving value for money from the funds committed to these projects.
The issues are expected to inform the committee’s scrutiny of the Auditor General’s findings as Parliament seeks explanations from the responsible accounting officers and agencies.
