Like I told the Committee on 12th October, SGS, which had been contracted to undertake periodic motor vehicle inspections, invested approximately USD 20 million in establishing a nationwide vehicle inspection infrastructure. This included the acquisition of about 4 acres of land in Namanve, 4 acres in Kawanda, 1 acre in Namulanda, 1 acre in Nabbingo, sites in Gulu and Mbale, and approximately 4 acres in Mbarara. They were fully constructed, equipped with specialised inspection equipment and software customised for Uganda,operational, and visibly deployed across the country. The investment resulted in a functional national inspection network with substantial physical assets already in place. In addition, they acquired 3 Mobile Vehicle Inspection Centres (Equipment). All at a cost about of about USD 20 Million. Now here we are saying USD 25 Million for just software as cheap. To fully comprehend the fraudulent nature of this contract, one must first understand who is speaking here. The gentleman in question is not a permanent and pensionable employee of @MoWT_Uganda. He was hired on a two-year contract in 2015 and, rather than being absorbed into the established Ministry structure, has remained on continuous contract renewals for over a decade. More importantly, he is not even part of the Ministry's official ICT Section. He operates within a parallel ICT unit established outside the normal organisational framework and dedicated to a specific purpose. That distinction matters because questions about authority, accountability, institutional oversight, and whose interests are ultimately being served. When assessing the credibility of claims surrounding this contract, the public should first understand that the individuals most aggressively defending it are not necessarily part of the permanent structures mandated to safeguard government interests. That fact alone should make every Ugandan concern.

Sometimes Government leadership acts as though it is completely detached from the realities faced by ordinary citizens. I have served in the Public Service for 26 years, and throughout that time, the travel allowances for civil servants have remained virtually stagnant for nearly two decades. But over the same period, allowances and benefits for Ministers and Members of Parliament have steadily increased. Whether I personally benefit from these decisions is beside the point (I have got allowances like twice in six years). The real issue is that Government appears increasingly disconnected from the daily struggle of ordinary Ugandans who are battling soaring prices, stagnant incomes and an ever-rising cost of living. That is the hallmark of leadership that is losing touch with the people it is supposed to serve. Timing in governance is everything. Just over the weekend, the PSST, @rggoobi, announced expenditure cuts and urged fiscal discipline. Yet this letter makes a mockery of his message. It undermines that call for austerity and risks reducing future appeals for sacrifice to mere rhetoric. Citizens are being asked to tighten their belts while Government appears determined to loosen its own. The contradiction becomes even more glaring when one considers that the Uganda Shilling continues to come under pressure against the US Dollar, yet Government is increasing foreign travel allowance rates denominated in dollars. How can leaders credibly ask citizens to embrace austerity when they are not visibly embracing it themselves? The problem is not the announcement but the credibility gap. If the PSST says fuel budgets have been cut by 50%, it means nothing because expenditure can simply be shifted to other budget lines. On paper, expenditure may have been reduced. In practice, the public sees little evidence of sacrifice at the top. Ugandans want to see leadership by example. If austerity is necessary, it must begin with those in positions of power. If Government expects citizens to bear the burden of economic hardship, then Government must demonstrate that it is bearing an even greater share of that burden itself. This government desperately needs a complete overhaul because there are so many entrenched methods of wasteful expenditure that need to be uprooted.