A fresh corruption controversy has emerged after Local Government Minister Balaam Barugahara revealed that Shs900 million allocated for a one-kilometre low-cost surface road in Pakwach District was almost fully spent after only 10 metres of work had been completed.

Barugahara made the revelation while appearing before Parliament’s Local Government Committee, where he shared findings from his recent inspection visits across different districts. He said the Pakwach case was one of several examples showing how public funds are being lost due to weak supervision and poor accountability.

The minister told MPs that during his visit to Pakwach, he found that a contractor had completed only a small section of the road despite using nearly the entire project budget.

“This weekend I went to Pakwach, where government budgeted for 900 million to do one kilometre of low surface, cheap surface road. I found the engineer had done 10 metres, but he had used all the money. He had only 12 million left,” Barugahara said.

He questioned how such a situation could happen when several government officials and institutions are responsible for monitoring public projects at district level.

Barugahara said districts have officials such as Chief Finance Officers, Chief Administrative Officers, Resident District Commissioners and other leaders whose responsibility is to ensure government money is properly used.

He expressed frustration over continued cases of financial mismanagement, saying corruption will continue if those responsible are not held accountable.

“For how long are we going to lose money under impunity? When people act with impunity, take them on,” he told lawmakers.

The minister also criticised the failure to act on repeated warnings and reports from oversight institutions, including the Auditor General, saying many corruption cases have been highlighted without strong action being taken.

Barugahara further raised concerns about suspects accused of corruption obtaining bail shortly after appearing in court, arguing that this weakens efforts to fight misuse of public resources.

“The corrupt are smart. They will run and get a good law firm to defend them,” he said.

He explained that some people arrested during anti-corruption operations had spent only a short time in prison before being released on bail.

The Pakwach road case comes as Barugahara continues to expose alleged cases of poor management of government projects since his appointment to the Local Government Ministry.

Together with State Minister for Local Government Justine Nameere, he has conducted inspection tours in several districts, including Moyo, Maracha, Mbale, Isingiro, Sembabule, Mitooma, Mbarara City, Fort Portal and Masaka.

The inspections have resulted in some local government officials being interdicted as investigations continue into alleged misuse of public funds.

However, Mukono Municipality MP Betty Nambooze questioned whether the minister’s inspection approach can provide a lasting solution to corruption challenges.

Nambooze argued that accountability should begin at the district level through institutions such as district public accounts committees, internal auditors and local government committees.

She said relying on national institutions to solve local corruption problems amounts to weakening the decentralisation system.

“We cannot centralize enforcement and claim to decentralize service delivery,” Nambooze said.

Despite the criticism, President Yoweri Museveni has praised Barugahara and Nameere for taking action against corruption at the grassroots level.

The Pakwach road revelation has sparked fresh debate about the management of government projects and the effectiveness of systems meant to protect taxpayers’ money.

Many Ugandans continue to demand stronger accountability measures to ensure funds allocated for roads and other public services deliver the intended results.

The Shs900 million road case has become another major test in Uganda’s fight against corruption, with authorities under pressure to ensure those responsible for misuse of public funds face consequences.