Investigation Busts Bukalasa Agricultural College Mess… Idle School Bus, Broken Grass Cutter, No Strategic Plan as Receivables Explode to Millions

Gelvan Kisolo Lule is the Principal of Bukalasa Agricultural College, a premier agricultural training institution located in Wobulenzi, Luweero District, Uganda.

KAMPALA: Bukalasa Agricultural College, one of Uganda’s oldest agricultural training institutions, has come under the spotlight after the Auditor General uncovered glaring management failures that have left equipment lying idle, key assets falling apart, planning grinding to a halt and millions of shillings tied up in unpaid receivables.

The findings, contained in the Auditor General’s report for the financial year ending December 2025, expose weaknesses in governance, financial management, procurement and institutional planning, piling pressure on the college management to explain why critical systems meant to support teaching and learning have been allowed to deteriorate.

Gelvan Kisolo Lule is the Principal of Bukalasa Agricultural College, a premier agricultural training institution located in Wobulenzi, Luweero District, Uganda.

The audit reveals that receivables at the college skyrocketed from UGX22 million in the year ended 30 June 2024 to UGX244.51 million by 30 June 2025. According to the Auditor General, the sharp increase reduced the college’s resources required to provide educational services, raising concerns about financial management and revenue recovery.

The Auditor General also found that the college lacked proper controls to monitor the use of equipment purchased using public funds.

According to the report, management had no system for documenting equipment usage logs, maintenance schedules, access controls or equipment downtime reports, making it difficult to monitor how the equipment was being used and maintained.

As if that was not enough, auditors established that much of the equipment was underutilised, while several important assets had fallen into a state of disrepair.

Among the assets singled out were the college school bus, the baler machine used for cutting grass and staff houses, all of which were found to be in poor condition despite being important resources for the institution.

The report further exposes procurement weaknesses after it emerged that Bukalasa Agricultural College does not have a full-time Procurement Officer. Instead, the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) assigned an officer to support the college only on a part-time basis, a situation that raises concerns about the effectiveness and timeliness of procurement operations.

Planning at the institution was equally found wanting.

Auditors established that after the previous strategic plan expired in the 2023/2024 financial year, the college failed to develop a new strategic plan to guide its operations, leaving the institution without an approved roadmap for implementing its programmes and achieving its long-term objectives.

Even the annual work plan was found to have gaps, with two activities lacking performance indicators or targets, making it difficult to measure progress and determine whether planned objectives were being achieved.

Financially, the college had budgeted to receive UGX8.068 billion during the year but realised only UGX7.695 billion, representing 95 per cent of the expected revenue. The resulting UGX372 million shortfall, according to the Auditor General, negatively affected implementation of planned activities and delivery of expected services.

The audit also found that the college failed to comply with statutory reporting requirements.

According to the report, Bukalasa Agricultural College did not prepare its annual report or revenue reports as required by law. As a result, the annual report, together with the audited financial statements and audit report, was not submitted to the Minister as required under the Act, raising fresh concerns over accountability and transparency at the institution.

The report paints the picture of an agricultural college struggling with weak planning, inadequate oversight and poor asset management, despite being expected to produce the skilled workforce needed to drive Uganda’s agro-industrialisation agenda.