In 2025, the Ministry of Works and Transport proudly announced a Shs 27 billion allocation for the construction of five strategic bridges across eastern Uganda. These bridges were meant to connect farming communities to markets, ease transport of goods, and reduce travel times for thousands of citizens.
Yet, a year later, not a single bridge stands. What exists instead are empty sites, rusting signposts, and a trail of financial loss that has left taxpayers outraged.
The Auditor General’s special report tabled in Parliament in March 2026 revealed that Shs 15.4 billion had already been disbursed to contractors for “mobilization and preliminary works.” Astonishingly, site visits confirmed that no construction had begun. In some cases, the land earmarked for bridges had not even been surveyed. “We found grass growing where a bridge was supposed to be,” the report noted bluntly. “The Ministry officials signed off on ghost projects.”
One of the most glaring examples is the Iganga–Bugiri bridge project, budgeted at Shs 6.2 billion. Payments of Shs 3.8 billion were released to a contractor who never mobilized equipment. When investigators visited the site in late 2025, they found nothing but a rusted signboard announcing the project. Local residents expressed their frustration: “We were told a bridge would come here to help us cross during floods,” said farmer James Waiswa. “Instead, we are still carrying produce on our heads through waist‑deep water.”The negligence was not limited to one project.
In Kamuli District, Shs 2.7 billion was allocated for a bridge across River Mpologoma. Ministry engineers signed completion certificates for “preliminary works,” yet villagers testified that no survey team had ever visited. “We never saw anyone from the Ministry,” said community leader Sarah Nabirye. “It was all paperwork in Kampala, nothing on the ground.”
The scandal deepened when whistle‑blowers revealed how officials colluded with contractors to siphon funds. One insider told investigators: “The contractors were friends of senior officials. They received money upfront, and the engineers signed inspection forms without visiting sites. It was a racket.” This revelation has fueled suspicions that the ghost bridges were not accidents of incompetence but deliberate schemes of fraud.
Parliamentarians have been scathing in their criticism. Hon. Paul Mugema, MP for Bugiri Municipality, declared during a heated session: “This is daylight robbery. Shs 15 billion has disappeared into thin air, and our people are still crossing rivers on makeshift rafts. Ministry officials slept on the job, and Ugandans are paying the price.” His words echoed the anger of many legislators who demanded criminal prosecutions.
The Ministry’s defense has been weak. In a press statement, officials claimed “delays in procurement and land acquisition” had stalled progress. Yet, the Auditor General’s report contradicted this, noting that payments were made despite unresolved land disputes. “The Ministry ignored basic procedures,” the report concluded. “Funds were released without verifying readiness of sites.”The human cost of this negligence is staggering. In Iganga, schoolchildren risk drowning during rainy seasons as they attempt to cross swollen rivers. Traders lose produce when rafts capsize. Pregnant women struggle to reach health centers. Each unbuilt bridge is not just a financial scandal but a daily hazard for ordinary citizens.
Civil society organizations have joined the chorus of condemnation. The Anti‑Corruption Coalition of Uganda issued a statement demanding accountability: “We cannot allow ghost bridges to become the new normal. Officials must refund the money, contractors must be blacklisted, and prosecutions must follow.” Their call reflects growing public impatience with a Ministry that appears indifferent to the suffering of the people.
The ghost bridges scandal illustrates a broader malaise in Uganda’s infrastructure management: a culture of complacency, collusion, and lack of oversight. Officials signed off on projects they never inspected, contractors pocketed billions without lifting a stone, and communities were left stranded. Unless accountability is enforced, the bridges will remain ghosts haunting the nation’s conscience.
As one frustrated resident of Kamuli put it: “We don’t need promises. We need bridges. And we need officials who care enough to do their jobs.
