Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Zadock Amanyisa
Published on 2024-01-31 15:46:30
A recent report from an investigation into the Agriculture Cluster Development Project (ACDP) in Bushenyi District has revealed that the government lost over Shs4 billion in supported farmer projects. The investigation, conducted in November 2023 by the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA) in partnership with the Western Ankole Civil Society Forum (WACSOF), found that out of the 18 ACDP-supported projects, only seven are operational, while the rest are inactive.
ACDP is a partnership project between the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry, and Fisheries and the World Bank, financed through International Development Assistance (IDA) under an agreement between the Republic of Uganda and IDA dated September 26, 2016.
The investigation specifically focused on the execution of contracts for the delivery of coffee and bean processing machines and sought to establish the functionality of the 18 projects supported by ACDP. According to the report, only 7 projects are operational, 4 achieved full delivery, and 14 posted partial delivery. Additionally, 9 projects are connected to power, and 2 of these lines are non-commissioned power lines.
The ACDP matching grants to farmer organizations were structured into the construction of shelter and storage facilities, equipment for post-harvest and value addition, and capacity-building interventions, and the total approved budget for each organization included 33% co-funding by grantees.
The report also highlighted the failure of the service provider to fully deliver the expected services due to power connectivity issues, which were not stipulated in their contracts. This, according to the report, is a breach on the part of the service provider. Additionally, most beneficiary farmer groups did not co-fund as per their memorandum of understanding with the ministry of agriculture, affecting the execution of planned project activities.
Furthermore, the report pointed out that two projects are at risk of being sold off by creditors, as the properties of some farmer groups are due for auction to recover unpaid loans. The investigation also revealed that the district officials were not part of the projects because the contract agreement excluded them, and efforts to reach the contracting company for a comment were unsuccessful.
In response to the report, the Bushenyi District Production Officer, Gordon Tumuhimbise, confirmed that Musa Body did not deliver the services as per the contract, and the farmers had limited capacity to co-fund their projects. He also noted that the district officials were not involved in the projects due to the exclusion in the contract agreement.
WACSOF Executive Director Apollo Lee Kakonge emphasized that the projects have great benefits to the communities and urged the government to fast-track the processes of making support available to make these projects fully operational in the short term. He also called for the government to ensure that contractors complete delivery of machines to beneficiary farmer groups where there was partial delivery and to ensure that the provisions of the contracts between contractors and farmer groups are adhered to.
In conclusion, the findings of the investigation shed light on the mismanagement and misallocation of resources in the ACDP-supported projects, resulting in significant financial losses for the government and limited benefits for the intended beneficiaries. It is essential for the government to address the gaps identified in the report and take corrective measures to ensure the effective and transparent execution of future development projects.
Read the original article on Uganda Monitor
