CoST Uganda published its second Infrastructure Transparency Index (ITI) results, highlighting an 11% improvement from the last index in 2021. Conducted from April to May 2024, the second ITI evaluated 30 selected procuring and disclosing entities encompassing 58 infrastructure projects in Uganda. This included projects on including transport, health, education, water, and energy, to provide a comprehensive view of transparency practices.

The launch of the results included a statement from CoST Uganda Champion, the Minister of Works and Transport, Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala. The Ag. Engineer In Chief, Eng. Stephen K. Kitonsa read the statement on behalf the Minister.

The statement highlighted the government’s commitment to comply with international standards for measuring the processes and systems for delivering public infrastructure projects, and the government’s readiness to respond to public concerns on infrastructure development using the data published through these reports.

“As we celebrate this win, I appeal to all the respective Government entities, oversight bodies and non-state actors to take a keen interest in the recommendations, engage and hold us accountable to achieve the desired transformation in the sector.” statement by the Minister of Works and Transport, Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala.

This year’s assessment included 10 entities from the 2021 pilot index and 20 new procuring entities, with the collaboration of the Permanent Secretaries, heads of government departments and agencies, and the Chief Administrative Officers of ten sampled districts.

The International Transparency Index focuses on four critical areas of assessing infrastructure transparency levels: the enabling environment, capacities and processes for delivering public infrastructure projects, citizen participation, and information disclosure.

The results of the index highlight that Uganda’s national ITI score improved significantly, rising from 20.8% in 2021 to 32.26% in 2024, indicating progress in promoting infrastructure transparency. Key lessons observed in CoST members who have undertaken the index twice, is the that results from the previous ITIs were considered and addressed. In Uganda, the ITI results informed decisions to improve the drainage system across the divisions by the Kampala Capital City Authority, in West Lombok the results are used to inform planning, in Costa Rica, government developed a capacity building programme to enhance data publication, while in Panama the results informed government decision to revamp the procurement platform leading to publication of over 4,000 projects.

The improvements were underlined across all dimensions. Enabling environment evaluated the national context with its legal framework. In this case, Uganda increased from 41.4% (2021) to 43.50% (2024).

Capacities and processes assesses the strength of procuring entities’ procedures and capacities to publish information. For this scale, Uganda increased from 13.5% (2021) to 29.78% (2024).

The third dimension, Citizen participation, evaluates the consistency of procuring entities’ procedures and capacities to publish information. In this dimension, Uganda increased from 13.8% (2021) to 33.65% (2024).

The last dimension, Data publication assesses the amount of public infrastructure information published by procuring entities through projects life cycle, based on international standards, Uganda increased from 18.4% (2021) to 26.81% (2024).

The top performing institution in central government entities was the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) (80.26%), Ministry of Works and Transport (60.66%), and the Office of the President (55.23%).

On the other hand, the top performing in local governments was in Mpigi District (42.29%), Jinja District (40.97%), and Kabale District (40.27%).

The most improved performance was by Jinja District Local Government, which increased from 5.76% (2021) to 40.97% (2024)—this represents a remarkable upgrade of 35.21%—and National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC), which increased from 20.38% (2021) to 48.86% (2024), a significant advance of 28.48%.

Notable improvements, particularly at the local government level, suggest effective capacity-building efforts, and developments in central Government entities may be linked to donor-funded projects with transparency requirements.

CoST recognizes that leadership commitment and organizational culture play crucial roles in transparency advancements. For example, the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) has been very supportive and a key recipient of CoST reports.

“The OPM uses CoST reports to inform the general government performance reviews, monitoring of government and donor funded projects resulting from recommendations from CoST reports and other players, the OPM included government funded projects to be reviewed as part of this process. The reports are used to inform discussions on the development committee that approves and appraises public investments, the committee sits every month.” Commissioner, Monitoring and Evaluation, Office of the Prime Minister.

Among other recommendations, CoST Uganda points out the necessity of developing detailed implementation guidelines for transparency policies and implementing a comprehensive transparency framework across project stages.

Furthermore, it suggests the Procurement Authority (PPDA) launches a capacity-building program and establishing a peer learning network, strengthening oversight bodies and introducing performance-based incentives and sanctions, and enhancing citizen engagement through user-friendly interfaces and public awareness campaigns.

CoST Uganda remains committed to promoting transparency and improving the management of public infrastructure. We encourage all entities to strive for continuous improvement and look forward to even greater progress in the next ITI assessment.

The second ITI, designed collaboratively based on international best practices and lessons learned, aims to provide stakeholders with high-quality information to promote transparency and enhance public infrastructure management. CoST Uganda urges stakeholders to disseminate the ITI results widely, facilitating follow-up on the implementation of recommendations.

The summary and comprehensive report is now available in our resources section