- Contractors unaware of the existence and purpose of the Government procurement port - GPP
- Capacity building and training with experts is also critical
- Proactive disclosure in the CoST Infrastructure Data Standard improved
Stake holders in infrastructure development say there is need to make reforms in the Access to information Act, precisely to understand the information to give and not to give to the public.
During the online dissemination meeting of the updated Uganda scooping study on the infrastructure transparency, the Permanent secretary at the Ministry of Works and Transport, Mr. Bageya Waiswa noted that more of Ugandans are getting problems with access to information in many sectors because of mind-set.
‘’ We in tradition service we think that whatever we have is secret, it is we the chief executive who should help junior offices to know what information to give out and not to give out and who should give it out and to what level,’’ Bageya added.
Dr. Levi Kabagambe, Resource Person at Construction sector transparency initiative noted that getting to understand the usage of information is also paramount.
He revealed that usage of information is the real capacity issue because one can have information but fail to interpret it and in turn use it.
Therefore furthering the capacity building and training with experts is also critical.
Among the findings of the study carried out by Construction sector transparency initiative include, the Information on the Government procurement portal (GPP) is scanty and often incomplete, sometimes the information is presented in a form that is not user friendly,
The study further shows that some contractors were unaware of the existence and purpose of the Government procurement port - GPP
It also revealed that there is negative attitude of some entity staff to provide information, especially on procurement plans, subcontractors and evaluation result, Most PDEs never update their websites, Failure to follow procurement plans and Sometimes bidding documents are poorly drafted, thereby confusing bidders.
The report presented by Mr. Gilbert Ssendugwa Senior Regional Manager Africa, CoST International Generally shows that there is improvement in Proactive disclosure in the CoST Infrastructure Data Standard – IDS from 20% to 35.9% , 55% of the political leaders visibility support infrastructure transparency.
64% of the stakeholders ranked implementation of laws and policies, awareness raising and stakeholder engagement as key in promoting access to information. Stakeholders asked CoST Uganda to reinforce citizen awareness, empowerment and strengthen collaboration between Gov't and non-state actors on infrastructure transparency.