Finance spends Shs 300,000 per day per vehicle on 186-fleet

What the report says

Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC-Central) has asked Uganda’s Ministry of Finance to explain reported spending of Shs 20.25 billion on fuel, oil and motor vehicle-related costs in the 2024/25 financial year. The issue was raised during scrutiny of the Auditor General’s report by Mbale Industrial Division MP Karim Masaba, who questioned whether the spending offered value for money.

According to figures presented to the committee, the ministry said it operates 186 motor vehicles and 12 motorcycles. The reported total included Shs 5.05 billion for motor vehicle maintenance, Shs 13.9 billion for fuel and oil, and Shs 1.3 billion for other fuel- and vehicle-related costs. On that basis, MPs said the fleet cost works out to about Shs 108.9 million per vehicle a year, or roughly Shs 298,300 per vehicle per day.

The committee, chaired by Patrick Oshabe Nsamba, directed ministry officials to submit supporting documents and clarify the basis for the figures. Ministry representatives said they had noted the concerns, while the head of accounts said the wider spending covered operational needs such as utilities, stationery and other services across departments.

The committee also reviewed broader ministry spending on goods and services, including professional services, travel and transport, and vehicle maintenance. MPs highlighted an apparent mismatch between two maintenance figures and asked officials to explain the difference before the committee finalises its assessment of the ministry’s fleet costs and related expenditure.