The Republic of Uganda A VALUE FOR MONEY AUDIT REPORT ON REHABILITATION AND MAINTENANCE OF FEEDER ROADS IN UGANDA: A CASE STUDY OF HOIMA, KUMI, MASINDI, MUKONO AND WAKISO DISTRICTS Prepared by Office of the Auditor General P.O. Box 7083 Kampala FEBRUARY, 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES AND PICTURES..................................................................................... iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................................................... v EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................ vi CHAPTER 1 ............................................................................................................................................. 1 1.0 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background to the audit .................................................................................. 1 1.2 Motivation ...................................................................................................... 1 1.3 Description of the audit area ........................................................................... 2 CHAPTER 2 ............................................................................................................................................. 7 2.0 AUDIT METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................... 7 2.1 Sampling ........................................................................................................ 7 2.2 Data collection methods .................................................................................. 7 2.3 Data analysis .................................................................................................. 8 CHAPTER 3 ............................................................................................................................................. 9 3.0 SYSTEMS AND PROCESS DESCRIPTION .............................................................. 9 3.1 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF KEY PLAYERS .............................................. 9 3.2 PROCESS DESCRIPTION .................................................................................... 10 CHAPTER 4 ........................................................................................................................................... 15 4.0 FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ......................................... 15 4.1 PLANNING AND BUDGETING .......................................................................... 15 4.1.1 Use of RAMPS in planning and budgeting ........................................................ 15 4.1.2 Preparation of work plans for rehabilitation and maintenance of feeder roads .... 21 4. 1.3 Use of Annual District Road Work plans in execution of works .......................... 23 4.2 EXECUTION OF REHABILIATION AND MAINTENANCE WORKS ......................... 24 4.2.1 Implementation of road works as per work plan schedules ............................... 24 ii 4.2.2 Adherence to Procurement laws, regulations and guidelines. ............................ 30 4.2.3 Availability of essential road equipment ........................................................... 34 4.2.4 Funding of district feeder roads rehabilitation and maintenance works .............. 38 4.3.1 Inspection and supervision of road works ........................................................ 42 4.3.2 Monitoring and Evaluation of rehabilitation and maintenance of road works ...... 45 Appendices I - VII........................................................................................................III iii LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES AND PICTURES Pages Table 1: Funding of feeder roads in the sampled districts 15 Table 2: Ranking of roads in various road conditions 22 Table 3: Roads ranked in various conditions in order of priority interventions 26 Table 4: Roads rehabilitated/maintained without RAMP recommendations 27 Table 5: Roads rehabilitated/maintained without RAMP recommendations 28 Table 6: District compliance levels with RAMP recommendations 29 Table 7 (a): Average District Project delays 37 Table 7 (b): District delays (days) in the procurement process 38 Table 8: Amount spent on delayed road projects 39 Table 9: District Procurement Compliance levels 42 Table 10: District equipment inventory levels and status 46 Table 11: Releases to Regional Mechanical Workshops by URF and MoW&T 47 Table 12: District feeder road budgets, releases, expenditure and absorption rates 50 Table 13: District and departmental average delays in receipt of funds 51 Table 14: Planned and actual quarterly M & E visits conducted 57 Table 15: District actual expenditure on M & E activities 58 Picture .1: On-going rehabilitation works on Mukongoro-Kamacha-Bukedea Road, Kumi District 36 Pictures .2 & 3: Old and abandoned culverts at Mukura-Ngora road in Kumi district 37 Pictures 4 & 5: Old and grounded equipment in Mukono district 46 Picture.6: Unsatisfactory road works 55 iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AFOSAI–E African Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (English Speaking) CAO Chief Administrative Officer DE District Engineer DP District Planner IPFs Indicative Planning Figures INTOSAI International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions MOFPED Ministry of Finance Planning and Economic Development MOLG Ministry of Local Government MoLG Ministry of Local Governments MoW&T Ministry of Works and Transport OAG Office of the Auditor General PRDP Peace Recovery and Development Plan PS Permanent Secretary RAMPS Rehabilitation and Maintenance Planning System UGX Ugandan Shilling Currency UNRA Uganda National Roads Authority URF Uganda Road Fund v EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Background The Ministry of Local Government is charged with the responsibility of providing strategic management and oversight functions to district authorities, such as: policy formulation, regulation, planning and monitoring of district performance in many government programmes, such as: area of the maintenance and rehabilitation of feeder roads. District authorities are responsible for the maintenance and rehabilitation of feeder roads in their respective geographical locations. A total of Shs.18.8 billion was spent on the maintenance and rehabilitation of feeder roads in the five (5) districts selected for the study for four the financial years covering the period from 2007/2008 to 2010/2011. Despite substantial investment by the Government, the status of the feeder roads in the districts remained undesirable. Many roads have potholes, overgrown grass on road shoulders, broken culverts and clogged drainage systems. It is against this background that the Office of the Auditor General decided to conduct a Value for Money audit to ascertain the challenges facing the management of feeder roads and to analyze their underlying causes; and finally, to make recommendations to address them. Audit Scope The audit focused on the aspects of whether the rehabilitation and maintenance of feeder roads by district authorities in Uganda were adequately planned and budgeted for, implemented timely and satisfactory quality of works attained in the four financial years from 2007/2008 to 2010/2011. A case study was conducted in five district authorities, namely: Hoima, Masindi, Kumi, Mukono and Wakiso. vi Key Audit Findings The following audit findings were noted:- Use of RAMPS in Planning and Budgeting It was observed that, 65% (13 roads) of the twenty roads selected in the five districts visited under the case study had RAMPs recommendations made. Out of the 13 roads with RAMPS recommendations made, only 62% (8 roads) had the recommendations adhered to. Non preparation of RAMP and non adherence to RAMP recommendations during rehabilitation and maintenance of some roads, led to non-scientific cost estimates being used in the planning process. Implementation of Road works as per Work plan Schedules It was established that only 3 (15%) roads in the districts of Hoima, Mukono and Wakiso out of the 20 selected roads from the five districts were completed as per work plan schedule. Seventeen (85%) roads were not maintained as per work plan schedules. As a result of the delayed road works, the public did not receive the intended benefits in time despite government (districts) spending a total of shs.3,168,711,204 on projects Adherence to Procurement Laws, Regulations and Guidelines A sample of 20 roads selected in the five districts was subjected to assessment criteria to test if all the procurement procedures were followed in the procurement cycle. It was noted that out of an average of 84 procurement procedures, only 49 were complied with, resulting in an average district compliance level of only 58% in all the districts visited. Non-compliance with procurement procedures delayed the procurement process, which, subsequently, affected the timely implementation of road works. Availability of Essential Road Equipment It was established that none of the five districts visited had a full set of essential road equipment as required. The district inventory of the road equipment ranged between 33% (5 out of 15) for Hoima district to 87% (13 out of 15) for Masindi and Mukono districts. The failure by government to allocate the requisite number of road equipment to districts, coupled with constant equipment breakdown denied districts the minimum capacity