AFCON RUSH? Works minister warns against ‘exorbitant’ airport deals

Works and Transport Minister Fred Byamukama has issued a blunt warning against using the 2027 AFCON deadline to push through an expensive contract for the Kabaalega International Airport passenger terminal, amid questions in Parliament over the procurement process.
Byamukama told Parliament that the government would not sacrifice value for money in the name of beating the clock for AFCON 2027.
He pointed to past government projects linked to major international events, saying urgency had sometimes been used to justify costly contracts.
“We have lost a lot of money in these things where come CHOGM, AFCON, people pretend we’re in the rush hour, we sign exorbitant contracts. By the time they realise it, money is eaten,” he noted.
The warning comes after Bukoto County Central MP Richard Sebamala raised questions about the procurement of the airport’s passenger terminal, including what he described as major differences in the bids submitted by competing contractors.
Sebamala also questioned the pace of the process, warning that delays could have implications for Uganda’s preparations to co-host AFCON 2027.
He has asked Parliament’s Physical Infrastructure Committee to scrutinise the procurement.
The minister rejected parts of Sebamala’s presentation, accusing him of mixing “true and false information”.
Byamukama also suggested that the MP’s intervention appeared to favour one of the bidders, an allegation Sebamala denied.
The exchange has placed fresh scrutiny on a procurement process that the government says is now nearing completion.
Byamukama insisted that the government remains in control of the process and will select what he called the “right contractor”.
“We are in charge. We shall have the right contractor in that place,” he added.
He further told Parliament that President Yoweri Museveni had rejected approaches from parties seeking to influence the award of the contract, saying the priority was to secure value for public money.
Byamukama said the procurement was in its final stages and that the government expected to present a report to Sebamala before proceeding with the contract.
“We are in the final stages. Come next week, we shall give him the report he needed, and we shall have the contractor sign the contract too.”
The unfolding dispute raises a central question for the AFCON preparations: can Uganda deliver the required airport infrastructure on time without allowing the tournament deadline to become a justification for inflated or poorly scrutinised contracts?
With Parliament now being asked to examine the procurement, attention is likely to focus on the competing bids, the evaluation process and how the final contractor is selected.