The State Minister for Privatisation and Investment, Ms. Evelyn Anite, has ordered the top management of the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) to return Shs545 million that they awarded themselves as “honoraria payments” from funds allocated to the loan-funded Kampala Industrial Park Development (KIPD) project.
In a letter dated June 12 addressed to the UIA board chairperson, Mr. Morrison Rwakakamba, Ms. Anite criticized the payments, calling them “despicable, uncouth, barbaric, and uncultured.” She highlighted that the project has been stalled for five years, missing its initial completion date of January 5, 2024, and condemned the management for misusing the funds.
Ms. Anite emphasized that this action constituted misappropriation, abuse, and corruption at the expense of Ugandan taxpayers. She instructed that the top management, led by Director General Mr. Robert Mukiza, must “refund all the money” within 24 hours of receiving the letter. Failure to comply would result in severe consequences.
Responding through an intermediary, Mr. Mukiza defended the honoraria, asserting that it was legally outlined in the contract. He suggested that the minister might have been misled or had not fully reviewed the contract details.
UIA, a statutory agency responsible for promoting government investment initiatives and policies, saw nine of its staff members, including Mr. Mukiza, receive payments for “additional responsibilities.” On July 23, 2023, Mr. Mukiza received Shs82 million; his deputy, Dr. Paul Kyalimpa, Shs58 million; and several other staff members received varying amounts.
In 2018, the Ministry of Finance borrowed €249 million (about Shs1 trillion) from the UK Export Finance and Standard Chartered Bank of London to develop the KIBP. The project aimed to facilitate industrialization by constructing roads, bridges, an SME hub, and other amenities to support investors. However, the project has faced numerous issues, including extortion, land parceling to dubious investors, and inflated development costs, resulting in significant delays. The project is now expected to be completed by September 2025.
Internal documents reviewed by the Daily Monitor revealed that the UIA justified the honoraria to compensate for the additional responsibilities undertaken by the project management team and some UIA staff after the termination of the Owner’s Engineer (OE) on August 29, 2022. The UIA board recommended that management consider remunerating staff for their extra duties in accordance with the law. The board referenced the human resources manual, which allows honoraria for work that is exceptionally important, outside the normal scope of duties, involves a disproportionate amount of time, or requires special skills.
The honoraria payments were also defended based on cost savings, as the total proposed honoraria of €124,822 (Shs503 million) for the period from September 2022 to February 2023 represented a significant saving compared to the OE’s earnings.
UIA management noted that honoraria, like other allowances, are subject to statutory deductions including PAYE and NSSF contributions, as per the Income Tax Act and the NSSF Act.
