Audit finds 228 district roadworks with quality and completion problems

An Auditor General’s audit finds 228 problematic district roadworks in Uganda, highlighting concerns over quality, completion and delivery.

An Auditor General's inspection has uncovered problems in 228 district roadworks across 176 local governments, raising fresh questions about the quality and value of road-maintenance expenditure. The affected local governments, comprising districts, cities and municipal councils, received a combined Shs176 billion under the road development grant. The inspection also found 239 roads that remained incomplete, based on field inspections covering road-maintenance works in local governments.

The inspection also found 239 roads that remained incomplete. Phot0/Illustration only.

The findings point to several interconnected weaknesses in local road delivery. The issue is not simply whether money was allocated or contracts awarded, but whether the combination of contractor performance, supervision, equipment, materials and local-government capacity is producing roads that meet the required standard. The findings are particularly notable alongside the government's current push for more road equipment for local governments, suggesting that machinery availability is one component of a wider delivery-capacity problem.

For the construction industry, the bigger question is what happens between budget allocation and a completed, serviceable road. A road grant can fund works, but the result depends on project preparation, procurement, supervision, equipment, quality control and maintenance. The audit therefore provides another reminder that infrastructure performance cannot be measured by expenditure alone; the physical asset delivered and its condition are the ultimate outputs.