URC explains itself on billions in trainings and missing wagons

What the report says

Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) has pushed back against questions from Parliament over two issues: 394 railway wagons that cannot be fully traced and claims that billions of shillings were spent on staff training. The Independent Uganda reported that the corporation told lawmakers it did not commit any offence in relation to the wagons, while the Auditor General had raised concerns after failing to obtain satisfactory answers. Parliament also asked URC Managing Director Benon Kajuna to give a statement to police in connection with the missing wagons.

According to the article, the wagons were valued at about 220.8 billion shillings. URC said the accounting problem dates back to the period of the joint Uganda-Kenya concession to Rift Valley Railways, which began in 2006 and was later terminated. The corporation said earlier verifications found discrepancies in asset records, and that later checks in 2024 led Kenya Railways Corporation to accept the missing wagons in a signed verification report. URC also said Kenya Railways has not sought compensation from it over the matter.

On the training spending, URC said media reports overstated the amount. The corporation said the 29 million euro Spanish loan approved in 2019 was for railway rehabilitation and related project work, not only training. It said 4.82 million euros went to capacity building, refresher courses, contractor operations, and staff costs tied to the project, with payments made directly to the Spanish contractor Imathia.

The dispute matters because it touches on oversight of public assets, transport infrastructure recovery, and how loan-funded projects were used after the concession ended. The report also reflects broader concerns raised by the Auditor General about staffing gaps and service delivery at URC.