MPs give Finance 7-days to release funds to Micro-Project

The Portfolio Committee has pressed for urgent action on the release of funds allocated through the Contingency Fund to procure a ‘yellow plant’ under the Micro-projects Programme.

The micro-projects initiative falls under the Ministry of Economic Planning and Development. According to the Committee’s report, the budget for micro-projects was approved and the Contingency Fund was directed for the procurement of the yellow plant, yet no disbursement has been made.

“The Ministry of Economic Planning and Development must liaise with the Ministry of Finance to release the funds as Parliament pronounced itself that the Contingency Fund should be directed to the Ministry of Economic Planning and Development for the procurement of the yellow plant, within 7 days after the adoption of this report by Parliament,” reads the recommendation from the Ministry’s report.

The ‘yellow plant’ refers to heavy-duty construction or earth-moving equipment to support micro-project infrastructure (such as roads, community halls, footbridges) across chiefdoms.

While detailed public records of the exact item and its cost are limited, previous Ministry documents link the Micro-projects Programme to community infrastructure delivery and asset procurement.

The delay in funds release is seen as a bottleneck for ongoing micro-project implementation. The Ministry of Finance was previously instructed to pay Micro-Projects E100 million in the next seven days in 2024 under similar circumstances.

During the House debate last week, MPs expressed frustration that community-level infrastructure remains stalled due to inaction.

They noted that despite budget approval and Parliament’s directive, the equipment critical for groundworks remains unprocured and non-operational.

The Committee further recommends approval of the Ministry’s 2nd Quarter Budget Performance for FY 2025/26 conditional on the prompt release of the Contingency Fund and the procurement being visibly underway.

If the Ministry fails to act within the seven-day window, Parliamentarians have implied further oversight steps will follow, potentially including site visits, project freezes or re-allocation of funds.