Agriculture Ministry officials face questions over importing sickly but expensive goats

While the Government of Uganda has introduced several poverty reduction programmes targeting the field of community development and agricultural production, many of these have been abused by some for the would be key implementers.

For instance under National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADs) there were revelations of supply of livestock that could not live to reproduce for the purpose of revolving around beneficiaries. The most recent was the story of the goats that died shortly after being distributed under the Karamoja Peace plan as a way of swaying the Karacuna’s from cattle rustling.

Now in the spotlight are officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) who the Auditor General, John Muwanga in his report for the financial year ending June 30, 2023 queried for spending Shs7.3m on importing each goat but a majority died.

Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC-Central) is now digging into the matter as the lawmakers task MAAIF officials to explain what could have forced the newly imported goats to die a week after being distributed.

The Auditor General, unhappy with the way the taxpayer’s money was misused, reported that the supplier and MAAIF officials intentionally transacted a business of bringing into the country goats that were sick and emaciated.

The Auditor General raised several queries on the expenditure of Shs15b on the Goat Roll-Out project supposedly implemented in seven districts. Under this projected, MAAIF procured 2,902 local indigenous goats worth Shs1.156b and imported 71 goats at a cost a total cost of Shs528m.

The report indicates that all the 150 goats worth Shs52.5m that were distributed to farmers in Nakasongola District died while 259 of the 700 goats worth Shs245m given out in Gomba District also died. Those that died in Gomba district were worth Shs90.7m.

The auditors revealed that when the officials from MAAIF were asked on the matter, they explained that the activities of project were suspended and an epidemiological investigations was carried out which later established that the goats are dying of pestes de petite rumanatia goat plagues a highly infections viral disease of goats and sheep.

“If it was the goats were dying of Pestes de Petite Ruminatia a highly infectious viral disease of goats and sheep within first week, it implies that the supplier intentionally supplied to government sick infected goats but also the ministry should have examined these goats at the time of delivery,” read in part the audit report.

The Auditor General’s report also details the testimonies from the beneficiaries who told the Auditors that some of the goats were weak at the time of distribution.

 “Some of the goats received were weak, emaciated, coughing and had nasal discharges which required treatment thereby incurring extra treatment costs although this information was not documented and that most of the beneficiary farmers did not keep records of goat enterprises performance especially at farm level and inappropriate goat farm infrastructure maintained by some of the beneficiary farmers,” adds the report.

MPs not happy

The lawmakers sitting on the PAC-Central that is chaired by Muwanga Kivumbi told officials from the Ministry that they were equally not happy with the way their negligence caused a financial loss to the government.

Mawogola South MP, Gorreth Namugga faulted the MAAIF officials on lack of transparent procurement process in which Sembeguya Estates Uganda Limited was awarded the contract to intentionally supply the sickly goats to the government.

“During the inspection of most of the beneficiary farmers, they revealed that the goats that were received were weak, emaciated, they were coughing and they had nasal discharges. You pick goats from wherever you got them, coughing, sneezing they had every kind of sickness, and then you give them to farmers. It would be unfair for us to think that this project succeeded in any way. I think this project would require a forensic audit that would bring out issues of value for money and also to unveil who is Sembeguya that is why we are calling for the procurement action file to look into articles of association,” charged Namugga.

Sarah Opendi, Tororo District Woman MP was equally bitter saying there are indicators that the District Veterinary Officers in the project areas had been ignored despite being listed as key players in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

 “If you read article 5x of the MOU it states that this Sembeguya Estates Uganda Limited shall procure in liaison with District Veterinary Office, proceed to isolate, vaccinate, tag and distribute indigenous local goats. Were these goats vaccinated? Were they isolated anywhere before distribution?” Opendi asked.

Kashari North MP, Basil Bataringaya tasked the Ministry officials to clarify on the cost spent on the purchase of each goat.

“But this one of Shs7.23m per goat is something that I need to be explained to, how it was sourced and eventually purchased at that cost especially if the method of procurement hasn’t been clearly indicated. Once an officer takes office and you see that there is high mortality rate, you take interest to know why, has this mortality rate been reversed?” he asked.

On the spot was Steven Kajura, Project Coordinator of the Goat-rollout project at the Ministry who was identified as the key player in the procurement process of the goats.

He defended the cost spent on each goat noting that some of the goats were imported into the country in order to improve the local breeds.

 “The goats were got from South Africa and Namibia, we bought high pedigree animals and that cost includes cost insurance and flight so it came to Shs7.3Mn. The exotic pedigree animals are usually very expensive, you are free to Google and you will come to around the same range. For the disease, the mortality was high for two reasons, there is what we call goat plague, it broke out in many districts in Uganda and the contractor was procuring goats to give to the farmers and we have a surveillance report. I will go and peruse the files,” he explained.

When Committee Chairperson, Kivumbi tasked Kajura to explain if the officials from the Ministry physically inspected the goats supplied instead of relying on the documents submitted by the contractor, he insisted that they had carried out assessment and inspection in the benefiting Districts.

After failing to respond to a rain of questions from lawmakers, Kajura needed the intervention of David Kasura Kyomukama, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture who requested the Committee to give them more time to provide written responses regarding this transaction.

 “I can assure you that we haven’t budgeted for this activity because of the issues we took proactive action and I have been informed that many of the questions you have asked, we are in the process of examining them. I would request that we give you a comprehensive report comprehensive on some of the issues raised and I would request that we put these responses in writing with all the evidence required. I am interested as you are, because these are goats for Ugandans and this isn’t money for ourselves that we are taking home, I am also interested,” the PS pleaded.

This request was declined by Kivumbi who instead tasked police detectives attached to the Committee to carry out further investigation by recording a statement from Kajura as regards to the procurement.

 “I believe you have a big case at hand, and you have confirmed that you aren’t willing to continue with the project because you suspect we have lost money as a country and there are documents that we need, at the end of this session, you report to the Criminal Investigation Directorate, they accompany you and you get all those documents that you want after you have made the statement with CID,” ruled Kivumbi.

As the probe into the performance of the Ministry of Agriculture continues, Parliament is also expected to scrutinise the management of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak after the auditors faulted the officials for not considering the individual demands/needs of districts in planning and budgeting for this intervention.

The Auditors also noted that the procurement processes for the vaccines and equipment took an average of five to eight months from initiation to actual contract signing compared to the planned three months resulting in an average delay of four months.

The audit report also indicated that the Ministry of Agriculture distributed 1,930,080 doses of FMD vaccines worth Shs13.4b to 82 districts without any district requests.