The ROKO ‘Black Hole’: How Uganda’s New Parliament Project Became a Permanent Construction Site

The Auditor General’s 2024-25 report exposes a pattern of chronic delays on the new Parliament building, as the completion date shifts to late 2027.

KAMPALA, Uganda — A trail of six blown deadlines and a staggering 263 billion Ugandan shilling price tag has left the Parliament of Uganda’s new chamber project mired in an accountability crisis, according to a scathing new audit.

The Auditor General’s report for the 2024-25 financial year exposes a pattern of chronic delays by ROKO Construction Limited, the firm contracted to deliver the state-of-the-art facility. Investigators found that while the contractor was expected to hit a 69 percent completion milestone during the period under review, the project has instead stalled at 49 percent.

The latest revision pushes the delivery date to Dec. 30, 2027, marking the sixth time the timeline has shifted. The persistent lag has forced the legislature to remain in rented office spaces, draining public coffers while the skeleton of the new building sits unfinished.

The financial transparency of the project recently sparked a confrontation on the floor of Parliament. Leader of the Opposition Joel Ssenyonyi challenged the government over the ballooning costs and the contractor’s recurring requests for additional funding.

Speaker Anita Annet Among admitted the Parliamentary Commission is essentially backed into a corner. She argued that terminating the contract now would trigger even deeper financial hemorrhaging because ROKO has already received massive upfront payments.

The contract could not be terminated because the company had already been paid, Among said.

To mitigate further risk, Parliament has moved to bypass ROKO’s direct accounts. Under a new oversight framework brokered with the Ministry of Finance, the government now pays subcontractors and suppliers directly for specific milestones, such as glass installations and security-related redesigns.

While Among maintains this strategy will ring-fence funds for actual construction, the Auditor General’s findings suggest a deeper systemic failure in contract management. With costs climbing and a final completion date remaining elusive, the project stands as a high-stakes test of whether the government can claw back value from a deal that appears increasingly tilted against the taxpayer.