The Public Accounts Committee (Central) has recommended an independent value-for-money audit of the Shs16 billion Source of the Nile modern pier project in Jinja following delays that persisted beyond an extended completion deadline.
The committee has also directed the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities to investigate possible unauthorised revenue collection at Kikorongo Equator Point, where no official revenue has been collected since the facility was commissioned on September 28, 2024.
The recommendations are contained in a committee report presented to Parliament on Thursday, October 22, 2026, following scrutiny of the ministry’s projects and findings by the Auditor General.
According to the report, the ministry contracted Excel-Terrain Consortium on September 14, 2023, to construct the pier at a cost of approximately Shs16 billion.
The contract was scheduled to run for 12 months, from January 18, 2024, to January 18, 2025. However, the ministry extended it by 10 months, moving the completion deadline to November 18, 2025. The Auditor General subsequently found that construction was still ongoing at the time of the audit, despite the extension.
The ministry’s accounting officer attributed the delays to technical and statutory challenges, including delays in obtaining engineering designs and environmental approvals from Jinja City Council, as well as other implementation difficulties.
Although the ministry introduced corrective measures, including overtime work and increased supervision, the committee questioned the continued reliance on contract extensions.
It warned that prolonged implementation could increase project costs and delay the anticipated economic benefits, including revenue from tourism activities at one of Uganda’s major attractions.
The committee also questioned whether the project had been adequately prepared before construction began, given the challenges involving designs, approvals and relocation.
It recommended that the Auditor General conduct an independent value-for-money audit after the project’s completion to establish whether the government received value for the money invested and whether the project achieved its intended objectives.
In a separate finding, the committee raised concerns about the failure to collect revenue at Kikorongo Equator Point, another tourism investment under the ministry.
The facility was intended to generate revenue through visitor access fees and spending on amenities and services. However, the Auditor General found during a physical inspection that no official revenue had been collected since its commissioning on September 28, 2024.
The ministry’s accounting officer told the committee that the government was not collecting revenue because staff had not been deployed to manage the facility. The ministry was working with the Uganda Wildlife Authority to recruit personnel to oversee its operations.
The committee warned that the absence of an established management and revenue collection system could expose government revenue to losses. It also raised concerns that individuals could be collecting money from visitors without authorisation.
It directed the accounting officer to investigate possible unauthorised collections, establish the amounts involved and identify those responsible.
The committee further recommended that any money found to be due to the government be recovered, while evidence of criminal conduct should be referred to the relevant investigative authorities.
The two findings raise questions about the implementation and management of public tourism investments, from delays in completing infrastructure to the absence of formal revenue collection arrangements at a commissioned facility.
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