Soroti District Woman MP, Angelina Osege

Members of Parliament have put Uganda’s missions abroad  on the spotlight over their failure to  remit  funds collected from the sale Visas and rental fees of the country’s properties abroad to the consolidated fund.

The MPs says officials in these missions bank the collected funds from the Non Tax Revenue but that these funds do not reflect at the consolidated fund.

Angelina Osege, the Soroti District Woman, who also Chairs the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee said on Thursday that there have been many anomalies detected at the Uganda mission in Nairobi where by 276 million shillings was collected and that there are no receipts acknowledging funds from the people from whom the Non Tax Revenue is collected.

Keith Muhakanizi the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Finance.

While interfacing with the Ministry of Finance officials led by the Secretary to Treasury, Keith Muhakanizi, MPs who included that for Ntungamo Municipality, Gerald Karuhanga and Jessica Ababiku of Adjuman district questioned the Accountant General, Lawrence Semakula and Muhakanizi, over their non action yet money is being lost in Uganda’s missions abroad.

Later Semakula admitted that there is an anomaly and apologized before saying the they are going to ensure it is rectified.

“Actually as we speak, the ministry has directed the all accounting officers to encourage paying of visas through E-visa payment so as the fund is reflected to the consolidated fund directly. This is already a step towards streamlining these issues and I believe we shall rectify it,” he said.

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Currently the ministry of finance has been using finance programming model which had less sensitivity to final impact of the micro-economic policies.

Speaking during the launch of this new model, the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Finance, Keith Muhakanizi, says

Keith Muhakanizi the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Finance.

that in this tough economic time Uganda needs to critically assess end results of all economic policies to the final targeted Ugandan.

He said that Uganda has been attaining economic growth coupled with reduced poverty levels, but the real impact has not been felt by Ugandans, due to inefficiency in the current model.

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Keith Muhakanizi. The Secretary to the Treasury.

The Secretary to Treasury, Keith Muhakanizi, recently faced rough time from Members of Parliament on the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) over the government entities that divert funds from the budgeted items to unbudgeted ones without Parliament’s approval.

This came up as MPs sitting on (PAC) noted that in the financial year 2014/15, at total of 73 billion shillings was spent to unbudgeted items  by accounting officers of government entities  without seeking Parliament’s approval contrary to the accounting regulations.

The MPs who were meeting with the officials from the Ministry of Finance over the Auditor General’s report for the financial year 2014/15 grilled Keith Muhakanizi and the Accountant General, Lawrence Semakula, questioning why they allow the re-appointment of accounting officers who authorize diversion of budgeted funds to items which were not consider budgeted for.

Masaka Municipality MP, Mathius Mpuuga among the MPs.

The MPs who included;  the Chairperson of this Committee Angelina Ossege, MP for Rubanda East county, Henry Musasizi, Kalungu West MP, Joseph Gonzaga Sewungu and Masaka Municipality MP, Mathius Mpuuga and Buliisa County MP Stephen Mukitale at some point made Muhakanizi to sweat before the committee calling him to retire over the continued change of accounting officers from one government agencies to others despite of having abused public funds in their previous offices.

Muhakanizi however, later apologized for the re-appointment of such accounting officers but added that; “It’s not easy to retire yourself when you have not been chased”.

The Woman MP for Soroti district, Angelina Ossege, told the officials in the ministry of finance that is not right to allow the budget run on mischarge and faulted Muhakanizi for not punishing the accounting officers who allow mischarge.

Muhakanizi defended himself after serious questioning that they sacked some accounting officers over abuse of public funds and he tabled before the committee seven names of the sacked officers in 2016 and promised to sack more the same irregularities.

Some of the accounting officers he tabled before the committee who were not reappointed include the former Director in charge of Energy in the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, Eng.Paul Mubiru, the former secretary to the Equal opportunities commission, Amal Catherine, former Wakiso CAO, David Kigenyi Naluwayiro, former Zombo district CAO, Peter Okello, former CAO Nakapiripit district and the former CAO Alebtong district, Richard Rich Alioko.

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In one of the letter to the lecturers, president Museveni has ordered the treasury to pay the lecturers 16 billion shillings provided the university withdraws a suit against the National insurance cooperation over failure to pay their pension worth 16 billion shillings.

Addressing the university staff general assembly today to review the progress of the strike, muakanizi has said that he can’t release this money because the president has not yet signed this financial year’s budget though passed by parliament.

However the lecturers have insisted that they will not call of their strike that led to the closure f the university on 1^st of this month until their grievances are resolved.

According to Luis Kakinda the spokesperson of the Makerere University staff association, (MUASA) a bidding agreement due for signing this evening between the ministry of finance and the university might help end the strike.

By Isaac Senabulya

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According to the deputy secretary to treasury Keith Muhakanizi, the ministry has reviewed the method of remitting money to schools whereby instead of sending it to the district account for onward submission to schools’ accounts, it will go directly to school accounts in case of secondary schools.

Keith Muhakanizi

Sources in the ministry for education and sports which are privy to the ongoing talks between government and teachers informed us that in case of primary schools, the funds will go to the district account after which the CAO will submit it to the schools’ accounts, and that he (CAO) is supposed to make a public notice which he will pin on the notice board indicating the amount of money received and the number of pupils it is meant to cater for.

The sources add that in case of secondary schools, when the money goes to the school’s account, the head teacher will be obliged to issue a notice and pin in on the notice board indicating the amount received and the number of students it is to cater for.

The sources said that the reviews came after complaints by head teachers that this money delays to reach schools due to bureaucracy, adding that finance developed this as a way of ensuring that there is proper accountability for these funds.

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Keith Muhakanizi

Kaith Muhakanizi, the deputy secretary to the treasury while addressing journalist said that the government’s position is to use the money to build the proposed Dam that has had funding challenges for a nearly a decade.

Last week Tollow Oil paid Uganda 37 million US dollar in capital gains Tax after it earned 2.9 billion shillings for selling part of its shares to Total S.A., a French extractives company, and another one-third of its shares to the China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC).

Last month, Tullow Oil also paid Uganda over 300 million dollar in tax bill from the purchase of stakes of Heltage Oil last year which had created a dispute with the government of Uganda and threatened to stall developments in the oil industry.

Speaking to journalist Muhakanizi says the position to use Tulllow money for constructing Karuma Dam had not changed.

Muhakanize said, on the completion, the Dam will be connected to the national Grid and is expected to boost the Uganda’s electricity supply.

BY MUGISA ISAAC MATHIAS

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