Wakilii

Arapai Market Traders and Venders Association Limited v Serere District Local Government [2025] UGPPDPAAT 58

Tribunal · 2025 Application Struck Out AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for review of procurement decision following failure of Accounting Officer to issue administrative review decision within statutory timeframe
Decision
Application struck out for being filed outside statutory deadline

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

Citator coverage is limited to judgments in the Wakilii corpus and source-matched treatment records. Absence of a signal is not an assertion that the case remains good law.

AI-generated summary. This summary was generated by AI from the full text of the judgment. It may contain errors or omissions—always read the source judgment before relying on it.

Holding

The Tribunal struck out the application as incompetent for being filed one day outside the strict statutory deadline. Under the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act, an applicant must file within ten working days after the statutory period for an Accounting Officer's decision expires. The Tribunal held that these timelines are strict and cannot be extended, and late filing deprives the Tribunal of jurisdiction. The Tribunal also held that an Accounting Officer's failure to issue and communicate a decision within the statutory timeframe, relying instead on administrative review committee recommendations, violates the law.

Outcome

Application struck out for being filed outside statutory deadline

Facts

Serere District Local Government initiated procurement for renting Kasilo Cattle Market through Request for Quotation. Two bidders submitted quotations on 9 September 2025. On 16 October 2025, the Respondent issued a Best Evaluated Bidder Notice naming Sajo General Stores Ltd as successful bidder. The Applicant received the notice on 23 October 2025 and lodged an administrative review complaint on 24 October 2025. The Respondent's Accounting Officer failed to issue a decision within the statutory ten-day period ending 3 November 2025. An Administrative Review Committee was appointed and submitted a report on 7 November 2025 recommending retendering. A mediation meeting was held on 11 November 2025 but did not resolve the dispute. The Applicant filed the application to the Tribunal on 14 November 2025.

Issues

  1. Whether the Application was filed within the statutory timelines?
  2. Whether the Accounting Officer erred when she ignored the recommendations of the administrative review committee to have the impugned procurement retendered?
  3. What remedies are available to the parties?

Orders

  • The Application is struck out.
  • Each party shall bear its own costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Public Procurement — Statutory Timelines — Strict Compliance Required
Timelines prescribed in the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act are strict and cannot be extended by the Tribunal. Late filing deprives the Tribunal of jurisdiction to hear the application.
Public Procurement — Administrative Review — Accounting Officer's Duty to Issue Decision
An Accounting Officer is duty-bound to make and communicate an administrative review decision within the statutory timeframe. The recommendations of an administrative review committee are merely advisory and not binding on the Accounting Officer. Relying on or endorsing committee recommendations without issuing and communicating a decision within the statutory period violates the law.
Public Procurement — Application to Tribunal — Time Limits Following Accounting Officer's Failure
Where an Accounting Officer fails to issue an administrative review decision within the statutory ten-day period, a bidder must file an application to the Tribunal within the next ten working days from the date the statutory period expires. Bidders cannot wait indefinitely for a decision.

Legislation cited (7)

Cases cited (6)

  • Nalu Tours and Travel Ltd v Jinja City (Application No. 19 of 2023)
  • Quality Inspection Services Inc Japan and 2 Others v Uganda National Bureau of Standards (Consolidated Applications No. 15, 17 and 18 of 2023)
  • Rhema Engineering Company Limited v Arua City (Application No. 13 of 2023)
  • CSM Technologies Pvt Ltd & Sybl Ltd JV v NITA-U (Application No. 11 of 2025)
  • Eclipse Edisoil JVC Ltd v Napak DLG (High Court Civil Appeal No. 05 of 2024)
  • Sybl Ltd v NITA-U (Application No. 33 of 2025)

Full judgment

↓ Download PDF

The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.

Arapai Market Traders and Venders Association Limited v Serere District Local Government 2025 UGPPDPAAT 58 (1 December 2025)
Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.