MPs question cost of assembling Kayoola buses

Legislators on Parliament’s Committee of Commissions, Statutory Authorities & State Enterprises (COSASE) have raised concern about the cost taxpayers are incurring for the assembly of Kayoola electric buses.

This scrutiny came after it was revealed that Shs20 billion had been budgeted to produce 25 buses, with MPs noting that the cost of producing each bus is three times higher than that of importing one into the country.

The December 2023 Auditor General’s report on Kiira Motors Corporation indicated that several planned activities, including the manufacture of 25 electric buses valued at Shs 1.960 billion, had not been implemented by the end of 2022/23.

This prompted legislators to task officials from the Corporation to justify this rather high cost of producing each bus.

Isaac Musasizi, the Chief Executive Officer of Kiira Motors Corporation, informed the MPs that although the total allocation for the manufacture of electric buses had been Shs 20 billion, only Shs 5billion had been spent by the end of the financial year.

He explained that the buses produced are of two categories, and not all funds earmarked for this activity go directly towards the manufacture of the buses.

Medard Lubega, the committee Chairperson has asked Musasizi to provide a breakdown of the production costs for each bus, questioning whether the manufactured buses provide value for money to the country.

Written by Damali Mukhaye