governance 9 September 2026 Parliament of Uganda
Parliament Uncovers Financial Mismanagement and Missing Assets at Uganda Railways
A recent parliamentary report has detailed significant financial impropriety, including the misuse of public funds for foreign consultants and the disappearance of railway wagons, within the Uganda Railways Corporation (URC). The findings also highlight extensive land encroachment and disputed procurement practices. Source: https://www.parliament.go.ug/index.php/news/4606/report-reveals-financial-impropriety-lost-wagons-uganda-railways
Parliament has adopted a damning report from the Committee on Physical Infrastructure, exposing deep-seated issues at the Uganda Railways Corporation (URC). The report, presented by Chairperson Hon. Mwine Mpaka, reveals that funds intended for the revival of the railway and capacity building have been diverted to benefit foreign consultants and firms.
A significant portion of a Shs125 billion Spanish-funded project, specifically a Shs20.8 billion capacity-building component, was found to have been allocated to just five foreign experts. Some of these consultants allegedly earned as much as Shs140 million monthly, with indications that URC employees may have been falsely listed as foreign experts to access these higher pay rates while retaining their local salaries.
The committee also flagged a direct procurement deal where the Spanish firm Consultrans S.A.U., responsible for the project’s feasibility study, awarded the works contract to its sister company, Imathia Construction. Further irregularities included the transformation of multi-day workshops into single-day events, questionable overseas travel expenses, the sale of project-funded vehicles to staff, and the repurposing of funds meant for office furniture to equip offices for consultants.
Beyond financial mismanagement, the URC faces serious challenges in accounting for its physical assets. The report indicates that the corporation cannot provide clear records for its land, land titles, or rolling stock. A substantial 1,983 acres of URC’s 20,848 acres of land remain untitled and are subject to over 24,000 encroachment cases. Additionally, 62 railway wagons have vanished after being routed to a “virtual station” in Kenya under a previous tracking system.
The report details the sale of 152 wagons as scrap domestically and 28 in Tanzania, but the records for 82 of these scrap wagons are missing, resulting in an estimated financial loss of Shs2.4 billion. The parliamentary adoption of the report mandates the Inspectorate of Government to investigate and prosecute implicated URC officials and former Managing Director David Musoke Bulega over these financial and asset-related discrepancies.
In response, the Minister of State for Transport, Hon. Julius Maganda, acknowledged the corporation’s decline but assured that government efforts are underway to revive URC. The report’s recommendations include a joint strategy from the Ministries of Lands and Works and Transport to recover encroached railway land, potentially involving police and military support.