On paper, Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC) is financially sound.
Yet, a deeper analysis of Auditor General Edward Akol’s report for the 12 months to June 2024 reveals a troubled national broadcaster held together by duct tape, deferred dreams, and directives waiting on action.
A cracked foundation
At the heart of UBC’s problems is the unreliable asset values.
According to the Auditor General, UBC holds UGX318.79 billion in property, plant, and equipment, a portfolio that includes broadcasting towers, transmitters, buildings, and land.
But over UGX26.32 billion worth of assets (204 in total) have been fully depreciated – effectively declared worthless, yet continue to be used without revaluation.
This violates the revaluation model of IAS 16, which UBC claims to follow.
“Continued recognition of assets that have exhausted their useful life implies that the asset value is misstated … It is difficult to confirm the accuracy, completeness, and valuation,” Auditor General notes.
This isn’t just a bookkeeping issue—it undermines UBC’s ability to secure loans, ensure equipment is adequately maintained, or even make sound investment decisions.
The excuse? Funding shortfalls. UBC had budgeted UGX800 million for revaluation but never received it.
The situation is worse for land. Of UBC’s 62 land parcels, only 25 have been valued and included, while 37 parcels remain unsurveyed and unregistered – no titles, no values, no protection.
The Auditor General warns that this “exposes UBC’s assets to the risk of encroachment and loss due to grabbing.”
For a public entity with historic land footprints, that is a red flag waving in broad daylight.
The receivables crisis
On the revenue front, UBC is doing something right – it overperformed on non-tax revenue, collecting UGX14.9 billion against a target of UGX11 billion, thanks in part to Mega FM’s UGX1 billion contribution. But it’s not all rosy.
A large chunk of UBC’s revenues is trapped in receivables. The report notes that “trade receivables increased from UGX29.185 billion in June 2023 to UGX32.036 billion.”
Of this, UGX10.02 billion is from 732 clients who haven’t paid in five years, while another UGX2.53 billion is due to clients who no longer operate in Uganda.
This is cash that could power broadcasting upgrades, pay off statutory obligations, or settle long-standing arrears. Instead, it sits idle—on paper, but not in the bank.
UBC blamed this on the effects of Covid-19 and competition from platforms like StarTimes and Zuku. But the real issue seems to be systemic – “weak follow-up and delayed enforcement.”
A plan for a revenue management system is reportedly in the works, but until then, liquidity remains strained.
Payables pile-up
If receivables are the slow inflow, payables are the flooding outflow.
The audit report shows UBC owes UGX62.74 billion, with UGX19.7 billion in unpaid withholding tax, UGX14.4 billion in unremitted NSSF contributions, and UGX9.78 billion in unpaid staff gratuities, a 24% increase from the prior year.
This isn’t just poor planning—it’s non-compliance. UBC is now vulnerable to penalties, legal suits, and reputational damage.
“The continued accumulation of trade payables exposes [UBC] to the risk of fines and penalties … there is also a risk of being sued for breach of contract,” the Auditor General notes.
The defense? A directive from the President for UGX30 billion in annual support – a promise that remains unfulfilled by the Ministry of Finance.
This gap between political intention and financial implementation leaves UBC stuck: able on paper, broke in reality.
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UBC’s efforts to modernise have also hit logistical snags. A UGX8.58 billion contract awarded to Ontrack Technologies for a satellite solution was delayed.
Despite paying 66.4% (UGX5.7 billion) of the contract amount by June 2024, the system had not been installed as of October, the same year.
Why? The engineering team couldn’t travel to France for pre-shipment inspections due to visa delays, blamed on congestion during the Olympic Games.
It sounds like a one-off, but it’s symptomatic. UGX only implemented 55.8% of its procurement plans – UGX9.36 billion worth of planned procurements were left on the table, many due to underfunding.
This directly affects UBC’s mandate to ensure national broadcasting reach and reliability.
Signal coverage, tech upgrades, and billing automation – all were delayed.
Mandate drift
The UBC Act outlines 15 core responsibilities—from national coverage to editorial independence, consultancy services to indigenous programming.
But the audit found that several mandates were not even included in UBC’s work plans or budgets.
For example, establishing systems of accountability and enhancing profitability, providing electronic media consultancy services, and achieving and sustaining reliable signals, were not prioritised.
UBC attributes this to the suspension of the TV license tax and the lack of alternative revenue streams.
“UBC’s main source of revenue of TV taxes, was suspended indefinitely with no other alternative source of funding provided,” the audit notes.
In effect, UBC is expected to behave like a well-oiled national broadcaster, but without the fuel to run its engine.
Mega FM: The governance time bomb
Then there is the ticking time bomb in Gulu. Mega FM, originally set up with donor support and later vested in UBC, was privately registered by its manager in 2021 as a new entity with four shareholders.
The manager was later suspended and dismissed, but not before launching a court case claiming UBC has no legal ownership over the station.
The implications are massive. UBC consolidated Mega FM’s earnings in its books – UGX1 billion last year, but with court proceedings underway, ownership and control remain unclear.
This raises uncomfortable questions about oversight, asset protection, and the potential for internal sabotage.
If one station manager can re-register an entire government radio station under private names, what else might be vulnerable?
More than a clean audit?
The Auditor General may have cleared UBC’s books, but the real test lies in its institutional capacity, compliance discipline, and strategic foresight.
UBC is solvent but not sustainable, it is operational but not efficient, and it is compliant in form, but not always in substance.
Until government fulfills its promised budget support, until UBC tightens its revenue management and addresses asset gaps, and until governance issues like Mega FM are resolved decisively, UBC could remain a public broadcaster with a public mandate – but running on private frustrations.
If the 2023/24 audit report says anything, it is: ‘UBC isn’t broken, but it is bleeding silently.’
