The Permanent Secretary at the
Ssali said in a statement that the document transfer cost the ministry
"The Ministry notes with concern the exaggerated figure of Shs400m, that was said to have been used to transport documents from
She also noted that 38 laptops were distributed to staff during renovations and were picked up from the ministry offices.
"The affected staff individually picked the laptops from
Ssali's comments come after legislators sitting on the parliamentary committee on trade, tourism and industry expressed shock at the Sh400m cost and suggested that it was too high.
Officials from the
While the officials claimed they did not know how the transport fee became so high, they suggested that Permanent Secretary
However, Ssali did not attend the committee sitting, stating that she had already provided necessary information.
The committee also heard that the Ministry used Shs26m to deliver Shs160m worth of laptop computers to employees during the renovation of Ministry headquarters.
Witnesses, including Principal Assistant Secretary
The five vehicles that Ssali procured were described as old and at a rate of Shs600m each, rather than their approved rate of Shs500m.
The signing of the documents was allegedly delegated to an office attendant after the head of procurement refused to sign them.
The committee's findings also suggested that the Ministry diverted Shs5 billion from funds meant for relocation to renovating the existing structure, contrary to the originally planned Shs3.1 billion.
Committee members were concerned by the lack of information provided by the Ministry engineer and lawyer while defending Ssali's decisions.
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