Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) has revealed that it has saved government a sum of money exceeding Shs 215 billion as a result of building internal capacity to execute works previously outsourced from contactors.
This according to UNRA Executive Director, Allen Kagina is as a result of deliberate reforms undertaken in 2015 when management of the Authority was overhauled to improve efficiency.
Kagina told a press conference on Wednesday that over Shs 215.1 billion has been saved due to improvement in UNRA’s in-house capacity.
She said that currently, UNRA has the capacity to internally carry out; supervision of construction and rehabilitation works on roads and bridges, land acquisition and project designing. In addition, the Authority staff can also provide legal and audits services which was not the case before.
The bulk of this money (Shs 65.6 billion) was saved off what would have been paid to supervision of bridges while Shs 46.2 billion and Shs 44 billion would have been spent on legal counsel and designing respectively.
The UNRA Director for Roads and Bridges Development, Eng. Samuel Muhoozi said; “Originally procured contractors and supervisors. We were only dealers. But reforms have brought in in-house capacity”.
Some of the road projects accomplished by UNRA through its in-house Supervision capacity are; Sungira Hills road in Nakasongola, Moroto town roads as well as Koboko and Maracha town roads.
“Designs, land acquisition, legal services were always handled by consultants and the money we used to pay to them was usually too high,” Eng Muhoozi added.
“But now, there is realized saving which means the money remains in the Consolidated Fund and can be used to benefit other sectors of government”.
Central to the plans that Kagina outlined when she assumed office as UNRA Executive Director two years ago was to ensure that the entity had the capacity to acquire its own equipment and build new roads.
This way, money would be retained in the economy as opposed to hiring foreign firms that later remit their money to their home countries.
To further increase efficiency, UNRA has formulated a total of nine new policies which have been approved by the Board. These are in the areas of communication, fleet management, ICT, environmental and social safeguards, human resource, financial and risk management.
“The significance of these policies is that they allow UNRA to operate in a predictable manner and serve the public better,” Kagina said on Wednesday.
