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A fresh audit has thrown Uganda’s fuel monitoring system into the spotlight, exposing troubling gaps in oversight, questionable decisions and rising fuel adulteration despite billions of shillings being pumped into the program meant to safeguard the country’s petroleum supply chain.
The latest report by the Office of the Auditor General on the Fuel Marking and Quality Monitoring Program (FMQP) reveals a series of operational weaknesses and accountability questions that now place the officials running the program under intense scrutiny.
The Fuel Marking and Quality Monitoring Program, implemented jointly by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development and the Uganda National Bureau of Standards, is supposed to protect the country from fuel adulteration and smuggling by marking petroleum products with special chemical identifiers and conducting nationwide inspections.
Yet the Auditor General’s 2025 findings suggest that despite the program receiving billions in revenue, major weaknesses persist.
According to the report, trade and other receivables increased by UGX231.86 million, rising from UGX806.78 million in the 2023/2024 financial year to UGX1.038 billion in 2024/2025. Auditors say the increase mainly relates to unpaid fuel marking fees amounting to UGX909.90 million owed by M/s SICPA. Red Pepper has not independently verified whether this money has been paid by the time of publication.
The company at the center of the controversy is the Swiss firm SICPA Global Fluids Integrity SA, contracted to provide fuel marking services in Uganda.
Under the contract, SICPA charges 26 shillings per litre of fuel marked, exclusive of taxes, and remits 15 percent of the collections to the ministry.
The billion-shilling question now hanging in the air is simple yet explosive: why has SICPA not paid the outstanding fuel marking?
Officials have remained largely tight-lipped on the matter, even as auditors flag the unpaid amount as a key issue affecting the program’s finances.
The company’s local operations are overseen by Suzan Mweheire Kitariko, who heads the Ugandan subsidiary of the Swiss conglomerate.
The audit also exposed procurement failures within the program.
According to the report, the program did not indicate the procurements reserved for registered associations as required by guidelines, meaning no contract awards were made to the registered associations.
Auditors further revealed that the program planned procurements worth UGX2.442 billion but only awarded contracts amounting to UGX600.21 million, representing just 25 percent of the planned procurement value.
Even more troubling, only UGX412.718 million worth of those contracts were completed, representing 69 percent of the contracts that had actually been awarded.
The unimplemented procurements largely relate to laboratory equipment that remained under procurement by the end of the financial year.
However, the most alarming finding in the report concerns the dramatic surge in adulterated fuel stations across the country.
The audit found that the number of non-compliant fuel stations skyrocketed by 99.7 percent, jumping from 230 stations in the previous year to 459 stations in 2025.
Auditors attribute this spike mainly to low taxes on kerosene, which makes it more profitable for rogue operators to adulterate fuel rather than comply with standards.
“The number of non-compliant fuel stations increased significantly during the period under review,” the report notes.
Monitoring coverage also fell short of expectations.
The program achieved an annual average monitoring coverage of only 81 percent, far below the requirement for 100 percent monthly monitoring of all fuel stations.
The monthly monitoring coverage fluctuated between 67 percent and 89 percent, with no single month achieving full compliance.
These revelations place pressure on officials responsible for supervising the program at both MEMD and UNBS.
At UNBS, the fuel quality monitoring docket falls under Patricia Bageine Ejalu, while enforcement in the field is overseen by Peter Kitimbo, who leads operations against fuel adulteration, smuggling and non-compliant fuel stations.
Within the Ministry of Energy, the program is supervised by the Commissioner of the Petroleum Supply Department Rev Justaf Frank Tukwasibwe, a long-serving official who has held the powerful position for more than fifteen years.
Tukwasibwe’s role has long placed him at the center of Uganda’s petroleum supply regulation.
But the latest audit findings have revived old questions about the ministry’s oversight of fuel monitoring contracts.
Back in 2015, the Inspectorate of Government directed disciplinary action against officials in the energy ministry over irregularities in the procurement of a firm to mark fuel products.
In a letter dated March 13 of that year, then Inspector General of Government Justice Irene Mulyagonja directed the Head of Public Service John Mitala to take action against officials involved.
“The accounting officer should specifically reprimand Rev Frank Tukwasibwe for mismanaging this transaction right from the start,” the directive stated.
At the time, the IGG said the procurement process that brought in the South African firm Global Fluids International to mark fuel products had been marred with irregularities.
The contract was later extended despite major changes in the scope of work and pricing, a move investigators said should have gone through a fresh competitive bidding process in line with PPDA regulations.
Tukwasibwe defended his actions in earlier interviews, insisting the fuel marking system had helped tame adulteration.
“GFI has done a good job to tame fuel adulteration,” he said at the time.
Today, however, the Auditor General’s report paints a troubling picture.
Despite billions being collected and spent, fuel adulteration is rising, procurement plans are not fully implemented, monitoring targets are not met and contractors are delaying payments.
Within the Ministry of Energy, the technical coordination of the Fuel Marking and Quality Monitoring Program also involves Steven Barisigara, serving as the Assistant Commissioner for Standards Licensing, Quality Assurance and Project Coordinator for the Fuel Quality Monitoring Programme. In this role, Barisigara manages nationwide efforts aimed at monitoring fuel quality and combating adulteration across the country.
Meanwhile, the program’s financial performance shows that revenue stood at UGX10.47 billion against a budget of UGX10.60 billion, representing 99 percent performance.
The program spent UGX10.33 billion, representing an absorption level of 98.6 percent.
But the audit shows that out of outputs worth UGX5.88 billion assessed, 82 outputs worth UGX5.62 billion were fully implemented, two outputs worth UGX16.80 million were partially implemented, while 22 outputs worth UGX242.98 million were not implemented at all.
Auditors also discovered that three vehicles and other laboratory equipment were nonfunctional and earmarked for disposal.
The controversy surrounding petroleum sector oversight has also previously touched other officials in the ministry.
Former head of petroleum Spero Byokunda has been cited in corruption investigations and is required to refund Sh53,159,400 or face arrest.
As the revelations sink in, analysts say the growing gaps in the fuel monitoring program raise critical questions about leadership and accountability in the sector.
For many observers, the issue is no longer simply about unpaid fees or missed monitoring targets.
The bigger question is whether long-serving officials responsible for overseeing Uganda’s fuel quality systems have kept pace with the evolving challenges of the petroleum market.
“Leadership continuity can bring experience,” one governance expert said. “But when problems persist year after year, the country must ask whether fresh ideas and reforms are needed.”
For now, the unanswered question remains why the program still has rising arrears linked to SICPA and why fuel adulteration is climbing despite billions spent on monitoring.
As the Auditor General’s report circulates through government corridors, the spotlight is now firmly on the officials tasked with protecting Uganda’s fuel supply.
And the pressure is mounting for answers.
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