In regard to masks, the Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit in the Ministry of Finance has queried the Shillings 4,946 cost for each procured mask saying that it is expensive and also the absence of witnesses to some contract signing.
The Accountability Unit says that the Ministry was allocated Shillings 35 billion to procure and distribute to Ugandans aged above 6 years non-medical masks. Following this allocation, the Health Ministry on 9th July signed contracts worth Shillings 32.5 billion with 16 suppliers to produce 11 million masks but this was later revised to 21.4 million masks at a cost of 57.3 billion.
The free Government Face Masks
The Ministry of Health has disputed accountability
flaws in the procurement and nationwide distribution of non-medical masks meant
to curb the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19).
The flaws are highlighted in a report by the Budget
Monitoring and Accountability Unit in the Ministry of Finance.
According to the report seen by Uganda Radio Network - URN, it discovered
several irregularities by contractors that the Ministry of Health hired to
provide services and the irregularities are in relation to adequacy,
availability and timely deliveries, high and varying unit costs, lack of
accountability, duplication of efforts, laxity in wearing masks and others.
In regard to masks, the Accountability Unit has
queried the Shillings 4,946 cost for each procured mask saying that it is
expensive and also the absence of witnesses to some contract signing.
The Accountability Unit says that the Ministry was
allocated Shillings 35 billion to procure and distribute to Ugandans aged above
6 years non-medical masks. Following this allocation, the Health Ministry on 9th
July signed contracts worth Shillings 32.5 billion with 16 suppliers to produce
11 million masks but this was later revised to 21.4 million masks at a cost of
57.3 billion.
Now according to the Budget Monitoring and
Accountability Unit in the Ministry of Finance, only 16.1 million masks worth
25.3 billion had been delivered by August. The Accountability unit queries that
procuring 21.4 million masks indicates that half of the country’s population is
below 7 years something that is not true. The auditors also cite inadequate
planning which has left out many Ugandans and also translated into unending
supplementary budget requests.
Also queried is the Shillings 6.6 billion that was
provided to Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) to empower women groups to
make face masks. The Auditors say that although this initiative is good, there
is need for relevant stakeholders to clarify questions to the mandate of the Health
Ministry to provide empowerment funds.
On-spot checks by the Monitoring and Accountability
Unit also established low use and uptake of government masks by Ugandans
especially in Wakiso, Kampala and Mukono districts since many people prefer
using their own masks than those provided by government due to quality issues.
Uganda Radio Network - URN has learnt that the
Ministry of Finance has now asked the Auditor General to undertake a forensic
audit on all expenditures by the Health Ministry in response to the COVID-19
pandemic.
The Finance Ministry also wants the Public
Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA) to carry out an
audit on all direct procurements undertaken by the Health Ministry in line with
the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In response to the query, Emma Ainebyoona, the Health
Ministry Spokesperson says that following the Cabinet decision to provide masks
to all Ugandans above the age of 6 years, the Ministry computed 33 million
Ugandans to be eligible.
“The budget requirement of Shillings 81 billion was
requested for from the Ministry of Finance. However, only Shillings 33bn was
released in July 2020. Contrary to the report, suppliers were contracted under
framework arrangement to supply the masks and calls of orders were issued,”
reads part of a press release issued by Ainebyoona.
He adds that contrary to the Shillings 4,946 queried
by the Ministry of Finance, each mask was procured at Shillings 2,400. He says that
to date, Ministry of Health has distributed over 26.4 million masks worth
Shillings 63.3bn which is far more than the 33 billion provided and that the Ministry
of Finance committed to providing the total required amount to fulfill the
obligation.
The issue of face masks distributed by the Health
Ministry continues to dominate the public domain especially the delays in
distribution.
Recently, the Minister of State for Primary
Healthcare, Dr. Joyce Moriku told Parliament that the low mass production
capacity of local manufacturers hampered the nationwide distribution of face
masks.
“The total production mass capacity was expected to
be 800,000 per day as promised by the Uganda Manufacturers Association.
However, this number has not been achieved at all with a significantly low
output,” she told MPs during the plenary sitting last month on October 6th.
The Minister also alluded to procurement delays,
prolonged consultations by various stakeholders and quality assurance
implemented by the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) as some of the
other bottlenecks to the mask distribution.