PS Bageya on why Allen Kagina turned down Works Ministry job

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Works and Transport, Bageya Waiswa, has told Parliament that former Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) Executive Director Allen Kagina did not apply to be absorbed into the ministry after the roads agency was dissolved.

Waiswa made the remarks while appearing before Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chaired by Mawogola South MP Gorreth Namugga during scrutiny of the Auditor General’s report for the 2024/25 financial year.

During the session, Namugga asked whether Kagina had been absorbed into the ministry following the restructuring that saw UNRA merged into the Ministry of Works and Transport.

“So, was the Executive Director also absorbed by the Ministry?” Namugga asked.

In response, Waiswa said the former UNRA boss never applied for the position.

“She did not show interest,” he told the committee.

Namugga pressed further, asking why Kagina chose not to apply for the job. Waiswa responded briefly: “She knows herself.”

The MP expressed dissatisfaction with the explanation and suggested that low pay and salary disparities in the public service may have discouraged Kagina and some other staff from seeking redeployment.

However, Ibanda North MP Xavier Kyooma partly disagreed with the claim, arguing that the decision could have been personal. 

He pointed out that Andrew Naimanye, the former Executive Director of the Uganda Road Fund, accepted absorption into the ministry following the merger.

Officials told the committee that UNRA had a total staff capacity of 1,380 employees before its closure.

Out of these, 1,254 employees were absorbed into the Ministry of Works and Transport following the restructuring. 

However, 26 former staff have not yet been absorbed because they did not express interest in joining the ministry.

The rationalisation process followed the repeal of the UNRA Act in 2024 under the government’s Rationalisation of Agencies and Public Expenditure (RAPEX) programme, which aims to merge or dissolve several state agencies to reduce duplication and cut public spending. 

Under the reforms, UNRA’s functions were transferred directly to the Ministry of Works and Transport, effectively ending the semi-autonomous roads authority that had been responsible for developing and maintaining Uganda’s national road network since 2008. 

Government officials argued that the restructuring would improve coordination, strengthen oversight and reduce administrative costs across the transport sector.

Allen Kagina served as UNRA Executive Director from May 2015 until the authority was dissolved in December 2024.

Before joining UNRA, she served as Commissioner General of the Uganda Revenue Authority for a decade. After leaving the roads authority, Kagina moved to a new public role and was appointed chairperson of Uganda’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Council.

In that position, she oversees efforts to strengthen vocational education and skills development in the country, working with institutions and industry bodies to align training programmes with labour market needs.