Parliament’s Physical Infrastructure Committee has threatened action against the Ministry of Finance over officials’ repeated failure to explain a digital number plates financing model reportedly involving Shs3.3 trillion in government and public payments.
The Ministry of Finance faces possible contempt proceedings in Parliament over its officials’ repeated failure to appear before a parliamentary committee investigating the controversial digital number plates project.
The Parliamentary Sectoral Committee on Physical Infrastructure, chaired by Mwine Mpaka, is examining the project’s financial model, including how the costs and obligations associated with its implementation were determined.
Mpaka said ministry officials had repeatedly failed to honour invitations to appear before the committee, instead citing unavailability or the need for more time to study the matter.
“We have invited the officials from the Ministry of Finance several times, but they have failed to appear. Each time they give a different excuse – that they are unavailable or they still need time to study the matter. This is not acceptable,” Mpaka said.
The chairperson warned that the committee could take parliamentary action if the officials continued to ignore its summons.
“We will not tolerate this lack of cooperation. If they continue to dodge the committee, we shall have no option but to hold the Ministry in contempt of Parliament. They must account to Ugandans,” Mpaka said.
The inquiry is also scrutinising a financial model that, according to Mpaka, reportedly commits the government and Ugandans to payments totalling Shs3.3 trillion to a contractor implementing the digital number plates project.
The committee is questioning the assumptions underlying the model, including projections that each Ugandan would commit four traffic offences annually, translating into an estimated Shs800,000 per person per year.
“We are looking at a financial model that says Government and Ugandans must pay Shs3.3 trillion to a contractor. The model assumes that each Ugandan will commit four traffic offences every year, paying Shs800,000 per person per year. We need to understand who made these assumptions and why,” Mpaka said.
The committee wants to establish how the projections were calculated, who approved them and what they mean for public finances and individual motorists.
“We want to establish the basis of these financial projections, who approved them, and what they mean for the ordinary Ugandan and for Government. Parliament must protect the public from unfair financial burdens,” Mpaka added.
The committee is expected to present its findings to Parliament in the coming weeks.