UNRA, URF return to Ministry of Works

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Members of Parliament on the Committee on Physical Infrastructure have recommended that the Uganda Roads Authority and Uganda Road Fund be taken back to the Ministry of Works and Transport.

In a report to parliament, the MPs agreed with the reasoning of the government on the need to save money spent on salaries and administration of these agencies. “The Committee acknowledges the progress and work undertaken by the Uganda National Roads Authority since its establishment, including the upgrading and maintenance of various national roads, improvement of road safety, and enhanced road infrastructure development. Despite these achievements, the Committee notes the government’s policy shift and strategic decision to rationalize UNRA, aiming at eliminating duplication of functions with the Ministry of Works and Transport, enhance accountability, and optimize resource utilization,” the Committee report reads in part.

In the amendment bill, that has also been presented to Parliament all the functions of UNRA have returned to the Ministry of Works. The bill notes that the proliferation of agencies has created mandate overlaps and jurisdictional ambiguities among the agencies hence creating a high cost of administering the agencies which has drained the national treasury at the expense of effective service delivery. “This has overstretched the capacity of government to sustain them. Government has also established that the generous salary structures of the agencies have created salary disparities between employees of the agencies and public officers in the traditional civil service leading to demotivation of human resources in the mainstream public service,” preamble to the bill reads.

The bill adds that the former workers of UNRA will be compensated and those who can be accommodated by the ministry will be taken over.

The MPs also recommended that the proposal to mainstream the Uganda Road Fund into the Ministry responsible for roads. The MPs however asked the Ministry of Works and Transport to ensure that funds necessary to undertake road maintenance are availed to the local governments across the country.

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