Ugandan government officials on Monday blamed unethical procurement practices, weak contract execution and poor business organisation among local firms for their continued failure to win and retain major public infrastructure contracts.
Officials from the Ministry of Kampala Capital City and Metropolitan Affairs and the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority said many Ugandan contractors were losing out to foreign companies not because of limited technical ability, but due to poor project management, weak compliance with procurement rules and diversion of project funds.
The concerns were raised during a supplier conference in Kampala under the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area Urban Development Programme (GKMA-UDP), one of Uganda’s largest urban infrastructure projects.
‘We have deliberately created opportunities for local contractors, but many are not reciprocating,’ said Monica Edemachu Ejua, undersecretary in the Ministry of Kampala Capital City and Metropolitan Affairs.
Her remarks come amid growing criticism from local contractors who accuse government agencies of favouring Chinese and other foreign firms in the award of lucrative infrastructure contracts.
But Edemachu said local companies often perform strongly during bidding stages only to fail during project implementation.
‘They are good at submitting bid documents but their performance is poor,’ she said.
Uganda’s procurement laws reserve at least 30% of government contracts for local firms in selected sectors as part of efforts to promote indigenous business growth.
However, officials said the policy cannot compensate for poor delivery standards and financial indiscipline.
Edemachu accused some contractors of diverting project advances into unrelated businesses, leading to delayed or substandard works.
‘Once we have advanced monies to our contractors, they remove the money and go and do another business,’ she said.
The GKMA-UDP programme, which oversees major infrastructure works in Kampala and surrounding metropolitan areas, has increasingly relied on foreign contractors, particularly Chinese firms with stronger financial and technical capacity.
Officials also raised concerns over weak environmental, occupational safety and social safeguard compliance among local companies.
Sophia Nassali Masagazi, a legal officer at PPDA, said a 2025 survey under the GKMA-UDP programme found many local bids failed during preliminary evaluation because of incomplete documentation and weak joint venture arrangements.
‘The biggest gap identified was from the joint ventures,’ Nassali said. ‘Many of the bids fail because of preliminary issues that really just need bidders to properly organise themselves.’
She also warned contractors to prepare for the rollout of Uganda’s electronic government procurement system, expected to become mandatory for all procuring entities in the next financial year.
Officials said the conference aimed to strengthen the capacity of local suppliers, contractors and consultants to improve competitiveness and compliance in future public procurement processes.