Adjumani, (UG):- The aggrieved contractors of DRDIP (Displacement Response to Direct Impact Project) contractors in Adjumani have tabled their grievances on irregularities in contract management that have caused selective application of DRDIP guidelines on withholding tax (WHT) and non-remittance-of-deductions amounting to shs 1. 1bn, before the prime minister of the republic of Uganda.
In the letter dated April 22, 2024, filed through the office of the Second Deputy Prime Minister and deputy leader of government business in Parliament Gen.(Rtd)Moses Ali, the contractors want the matter handled by the Prime Minister since it has national character.
“We the aggrieved contractors under the umbrella of Adjumani District Contractors Association (ADCA) who executed construction works under DRDIP are seeking clarification on the guidelines of payment of the 6%WHT”.
The aggrieved party asserts they have from reliable sources ascertained that out of the 14 DRDIP districts including all the refugees’ hosting districts in the West Nile region and others like Lamwo and Isingiro have not implemented the payment of the Withholding Tax, we are therefore wondering why the contractors in Adjumani are being treated indifferently
According to the contractors, the 6% WHT deducted from the contract total values since 2018, to date has not been remitted to URA and return files do not reflect on the accounting system and ledger.
“We have realized that even within Adjumani district the 6% WHT is deducted selectively whereas other contractors are coerced to pay some were exempted notwithstanding those who were officially exempted by URA”.
“RT Hon Prime Minister, we request your office to intervene and prevail over CAO Adjumani and the Director DRDIP to ensure that the guidelines benefit us equally in all DRDIP implementing districts in Uganda and investigate the actions of the responsible officers”. The letter concludes.
On account of the pertinent issues raised by the contractors, Gen. Moses Ali advised that the issue be handled by his senior, Rt. Hon. Nabanja Robina since DRDIP is a central government project managed under DRDIP National Support Team headed by Dr. Limlim Robert.
“Issues of financial impropriety that affects a cross-section of districts in Uganda must be handled by the prime minister so that the matter will be treated from the source instead of treating symptoms that will continue reoccurring and spreading across the country,” Gen.Ali declared.
He said when the prime minister is back in the country he will immediately arrange a meeting with the aggrieved contractors so that she will base her decisions on first-hand information from the contractors.
The chairman of Adjumani District Contractors Association Mr Yusuf Fadul said all they want is to get justice and have their money refunded because the guideline on the 6% WHT is clear as guided by the accounting officer DRDIP Mr. Seramba Godfrey in his letter referenced DRDIP/2023/U0-1, dated April 20, 2023.
Mr. Fadul, a business tycoon who claims to have lost close to shs 200m in the tax rip-off said the communication expressly guided that CAOs should provide full accountability of all the funds withheld from the contractors and ensure that all the money withheld from the contractors are remitted to URA and WHT returns filed or otherwise the money should be refunded to contractors.
In plain terms the contractors have no contract with Adjumani district but with communities who have also not been instructed by URA to withhold taxes I therefore see any reason why the CAO should have acted in contravention of the guidelines and yet fail to remit the cash in URA account.
Mr. Sadik Shaaban held that the contractors are well guided in the pursuit of their misappropriated WHT cash and will follow the matter until their money which is part of their capital is rescued or else, they are prepared to reach the last office in the country.
He said what they are fighting for is not a community money but rather cash from their own sweat secure in the knowledge that livelihood depends on business so for anybody to politicize their educated or civil action will cause a protracted rift with the contractors’ association.
Mr. Maiku Christopher said.” imagine if the information of the WHT didn’t leak to us we were on the losing end because the CAO’s office has been looting us for close to six years and we are now left with two months for the 5 years DRDIP project circle to close”.
The Adjumani East MP Hon Mamawi James when contacted said the Adjumani district needs a peaceful environment therefore the grievances of the contractors must be investigated and resolved in terms favorable to the parties involved.
As for CAO Oryono, he is not a permanent designate Adjumani CAO he will have to leave if he is not willing to corporate with development stakeholders hence crippling development as leaders, “we shall intervene but with persistence and fairness”.
The Adjumani CAO Oryono Grandfield had pleaded his innocence claiming his hands are clean. “I do not have immoral behavior neither do I condone corruption, the money in question is being remitted into the URA account and anytime they will get feed backs from URA”. Mr Oryono stated.”
“I would have addressed the concerns of the contractors squarely by they opted to jump on the media wagon and then later on dragged me to police and IG (Inspectorate of Government) so there is no way I can have a round table discussion with them”.
By press time the district has partially made payments of 4 contracts amounting to about shs 140m out of the shs1.1bn, the aggrieved contractors are claiming.
Even then there are no reflections of the remittances on the ledgers though the e-receipts indicate payments have been effected, these payments are however still questionable because the receipts indicate the payments are for supplies of government payment when contractors have signed contracts with communities under specific sub-projects, not the government.
A source close to the office of Adjumani CAO Oryono Grandfield divulged that he was on Thursday, April 25, 2024, summoned by the office of permanent secretary OPM to take documents showing evidence of remittances of the WHT of all the construction works under DRDIP.
The multi-billion DRDIP Project is bankrolled by the World Bank and the Government of Uganda is a 5 years project that officially ended on December 31, 2023, but was extended up to June 31, 2024, upon request from OPM because several infrastructural projects had not been completed by the deadline.
Adjumani district was allocated shs 56.4 bn for financing a total of 384 sub-projects and the funds were all absorbed.
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