University’s principal Prof.Waswa Balunywa

MPS on the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee have revived a probe into Makerere University Business School (MUBS) and Uganda Land Commission (ULC) previous land dealing  which are currently  generating conflict between the two institutions.

The MPS investigations are facilitated by the   Auditor General’s Report for the financial year 2016/17 which shows that the ULC compensated MUBS with land which had land encumbrances which was occupied by squatters on one side and swamps on the other.

According to available information, Kireka Hill View land was compensated to MUBS by ULC for part of their Bugolobi under MUBS which the commission had illegally allocated to private developers.

The Principal of MUBS Prof .Wasswa Balunywa confirmed the land problem the institution is  facing and said that the University authority is pushing the land commission to give them another piece of land with no squatters.

Prof.Balunywa said that they are rejecting the land since the land commission has failed to compensate the squatters on the land rather than MUBS.

The committee chaired by Soroti district Woman MP, Angelina Osege, said that its going to investigate the circumstances under which the MUBS at first accepted the land with encumbrances which is hindering the University to use the land.

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University’s principal Prof.Waswa Balunywa

The Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee has quizzed the officials of Makerere University Business School (MUBS) led by the University’s principal Prof.Waswa Balunywa over gross mismanagement of the university funds.

The committee presided over by the Woman MP for  Soroti district Angelina Osege observed that MUBS accounting officers caused the diversion of 259 million shillings to purchase un budgeted items making the budgeted ones suffer.

Members on the committee also noted that 547 million shillings advanced to staff to carryout various activities of the university was unaccounted for.

MUBS officials especially its Principal prof.Waswa Balunywa and the University Bursar, Micheal Ruhingwa fauled for non-accountability of 93.3 million shillings paid to different visiting professors to the university ,pinning the accounting officers for  laxity to follow up any outstanding accountability  by staff.

The committee members who include the Woman MP for Soroti district,Angelina Osege, Adjuman district Woman mp Jesicca Ababiku, Rubanda East Henry Musasizi and Kiboga East MP Keefa Kiwanuka grilled the MUBS officials for procurement of travel agents to supply travel tickets to the University worth 346.2 million shillings for its staff to travel abroad to study about PPDA guidelines.

MPS noted that the travel agents supplying travel tickets to the university have been inflating the tickets prices compared to online purchasing.

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Member of Parliament for Ntungamo Municipality, Gerald Karuhanga

Members of Parliament sitting on the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee say they have unearthed the rot in the foreign missions which relates to mismanagement of the missions and infighting among the staff.

The committee that is presided over by the Member of Parliament for Ntungamo Municipality, Gerald Karuhanga, who is the vice chairperson discovered  that the accounting officer of the Uganda mission in Washington, Patrick Muganda, had to close his office for six months  over what he termed as  staff bickering and that there was no leadership to stop such misconduct.

MPs while interrogating Muganda understood that he was conflicting with the incoming accounting officer for Washington mission, Mr.Stilson Muhwezi.

The two are   accusing each other of failing the official hand over of officer.

However, Muganda, told the that committee that he found the mission operating in chaos which swallowed him and caused further wrangling and stressed him to the extent of growing grey hair.

He reported that one of the staff at this mission at one time blocked his password to access the mission network for him to make accountability in time.

Karuhanga maintains that the missions abroad are mismanaged because the process of recruiting the staff to these missions is characterized with nepotism and the recruited staff lack technical capacity to handle these offices.

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Soroti District Woman MP, Angelina Osege

The Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee has quizzed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary, Amb. Patrick Mugoya, over the irregular posting of staff members at the Uganda missions abroad.
The Committee Chaired by the Soroti District Woman MP, Angelina Osege, while interfacing with the new PS wondered why Ugandan staffs assigned to work in foreign missions and those recruited locally lack formal guidelines from the ministry.

MPs also noted that some staff members at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs recruit their relatives and post them to Foreign Service assignments without following the proper deployment structure.

The legislators pointed out that there is an irregular recruitment of local staffs especially at the Uganda mission in Rwanda.

MPs further asked the ministry of foreign affairs to enforce the rent policy for foreign service staff by acquiring them permanent residents to reduce on the expenses the country is incurring every year in
paying rent.

“The money government spends on the rent for staff at the Uganda mission in Pretoria in a year alone could be enough in acquiring permanents resident for staff. There should be a rent policy that you need to put in place to ensure we don’t continue inquiring unnecessary expenses,” Osege ordered.

Amb.Mugoya right during a handover ceremony with Amb. Mugume while Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sam Kutesa, looked on.

However, in response to the queries, Amb. Mugoya  agreed with the MPs’ observations on the issues raised saying he is currently  trying to ensure that staff deployment at foreign missions are done in accordance with the deployment structures of civil service.

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MPs on the committee chaired by Soroti district Woman Member of Parliament, Angeline Ossege, while meeting the officials from the ministry of public service led by the ministry’s permanent secretary, Catherine Musingwire, discovered this  through the Auditor general’s report  for the financial year 2013/14  that a total of 19,135 pensioners who had attained the maximum pensionable period of 15 years were still on the ministry of public service payroll and earning monthly pension yet they had not furnished the ministry with life certificates.

Member of Parliament for Ntungamo district, Gerald Karuhanga

MPs who included the Member of Parliament for Ntungamo district, Gerald Karuhanga and Angelline Ossege wondered whether all the pensioners paid were still alive suspecting that there could have been ghosts who benefited.

MPs queried the officials especially the Director Human Resource, Aidah Muwanga Kabarokole and the assistant commissioner in charge of compensation, Victor Buwaleka, on what stopped them from verifying for the right pensioners using the life certificates before effecting payments.

Masaka Municipality MP, Mathius Mpuuga among the MPs.

The Member of Parliament for Masaka Municipality, Matthias Mpuuga, was angry over this questionable payment to suspicious ghost pensioners when the right pensioners are frequently made to go to the pension office to be paid.

While responding to MP’s concerns over the suspicious ghost pensioner’s payment, Kabarokole, said that though MPs are suspecting payment to ghost pensioners but the ministry conducted the payment using available proper records.

MPs told the ministry of public to avail the list of life certificates they claim to have used to effect this doubtful pension to pensioners.

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Workers at Southern Range Textiles Limited making clothes.It one of the textile industries in Uganda.

benefited from the tax waiver for the supply of raw materials imported for manufacturing textiles but instead duped government when they supplied finished textile items.

This was after members of the Committee Chaired by the Soroti district Member of Parliament, Angelina Ossege, discovered that these companies whose names were not tabled before the supplied textile items already woven and printed polyester bed sheets materials.

MPs who included that  for Kalungu West, Kasambya County, Mbwatekamwa Gaffa, Masaka Municipality, Mathiaus Mpuuga, Angelina Osege among others noted that government paid 653 million shillings in form of value added tax and import duty on raw materials as interventions to make locally manufactured textiles cheaper and promote the growing of crops that provide fiber.

MPs quizzed the ministry of finance officials why they kept a blind eye on this illegality and   paid money to private companies contrary to agreed principles and imported finished items instead of raw materials that undermined the capacity of local producers of textiles products and the intension.

Keith Muhakanizi. The Secretary to the Treasury.

However the Secretary to Treasury, Keith Muhakanizi, says that the confusion was caused by a letter written to the ministry over the matter.

He also promised to give the committee the names of the companies which allegedly supplied the finished textile materials contrary to agreed textile raw materials.

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former Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government, Patrick Mutabwire.

The former Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government, Patrick Mutabwire, last week  failed to explain to MPs the circumstances under which over 12 billion shillings was diverted.

Mutabwire was appearing before the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee on Thursday Chaired by Soroti district Woman MP, Angelina Ossege.

The money was meant to procure 111 vehicles for all district chairpersons and six other vehicles for the ministry for the financial year 2014/15.

The Auditor General’s Report for the financial year 2014/15 shows that over seven (7) billion shillings was released to aid partial payment of the district vehicles and full payment of all the six vehicles requested by the ministry but only 1.5 billion shillings was used and the balance was diverted to recurrent expenditure without authority from Keith Muhakanizi, the Secretary to the Treasury.

The money was later diverted to personal accounts of ministry officials. Mutabwire in his defense said that most of the money was diverted to cater for pressing needs in the ministry including the African Day of Decentralization.
“These activities would have to be done and have them completed 100% but (ministry of) Finance was to spread releases throughout the financial year,” Mutabwire said, provoking bitter reactions from members.

Mathias Mpuuga, the Masaka Municipality legislator asked whether the activities  were an emergency to no response.

In October last year, Irene Mulyagonja the Inspector General of Government indicted Mr Mutabwire the then acting Permanent Secretary of Local Government following allegations of  incompetence and graft, replacing him with John Walala.

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Mulago hospital’s Executive Director Dr. Byarugaba Baterana

Isiagi had been summoned along other officials from Mulago hospital headed by the Executive Director Dr. Byarugaba Baterana to answer financial queries as indicated in the Auditor General’s Report of the year 2013/14.

The report highlights a 1.7bilion n shillings mischarge and this money was meant for medical expenses for the hospital staff but was diverted by the then accountant of Mulago hospital Isiagi Opolot to cater for staffs’ night allowances, cleaning, buying stationary, staff training workshops among other activities.

The members on the committee chaired by MP for Soroti Angelina Osege notes that Opolot’s conduct then was unprofessional because its during this process of diverting costs that money gets lost and it cannot be accounted for.

However, in his response, Opolot says he only diverted monies to avoid any paralysis/crisis in the hospital since government only comes in quarterly basis which normally leaves gaps at time of need.

The committee further quizzed Opolot 1billion shillings payment to personal staff accounts as advances to help them do government work including carrying out research, paying intern medical workers, paying for staff public holidays allowances among others.

The MPs note that this was so risky that could see all this money swindled especially in cases when these individuals have loans in banks that could easily chop this money yet it was not for the individual who holds the account.

Opolot was also taken through an oath when the MPs thought he was taking them for granted when he was recklessly responding to the queries.

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The parliamentary Public Accounts committee has grilled the officials in the Ministry of finance over 46 billion shillings which is lying idle yet it was meant for Agricultural credit facility for commercial farmers. The committee chaired by Jinja East Member of Parliament Paul Mwiru noted that 46 billion shillings of the Agricultural credit facility is idle for over a year while farmers are lacking loans and credit.

Members of Parliament discovered that this revolving fund in terms of Agricultural credit facility could have had difficult conditions for farmers to access it. They discovered that even some commercial farmers who accessed this agriculture credit defaulted 2 billion shilling.

The Director finance, David Kalyango, told the committee that the Agricultural credit facility is idle because banks face occasional delays from the farmers who applied for this fund. The undersecretary in the Ministry of finance, Betty Kasimbazi, pleaded with the public accounts committee for it to prevail over parliament so as this Agricultural Credit Facility scheme is reviewed  to ensure it benefits more farmers.

This Agricultural Credit Facility started in 2009 to help farmers to access funds to finance their agricultural production.

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Hon. Elioda Tumwesigye flags off ambulances procured under UHSSP. Photo credit: MoH

Members of parliament on the Parliamentary Public Accounts committee of parliament were upset by discovering that the Ministry of health supplied to health facilities in the country medical equipment and these are laying on their verandas.

In the meeting with Ministry of health officials led by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of health, Dr. Assuman Lukwago , MPs observed that  the medical equipment  worth 24  million dollars, out of 130 million dollars procured under Uganda Health System Strengthening project  in 2009/2010 and became effective in 2011, were supplied to health centers without needs assessment from hospitals.

The committee chaired by Serere district woman MP Alice Alaso  were saddened to learn that in Mwizi health centre in Mbarara district  medical equipment for a theatre was delivered with the hospital not having a theatre and the equipment are laying on a veranda. MPs also noted that in Iganga hospital an incubator was supplied without a staff operating it which has caused the medical officers in this hospital to wrap up premature babies and put them in this idle incubator.

MPs dug into the matter after the Auditor General conducted a special value for money audit in this project. The project was to help in the rehabilitation of 19 hospitals, 17 general hospitals and two regional hospitals for Mubende and Moroto and 27 health center fours and three. Part of this money, 30m, was meant to support the reproductive health component and 85m US dollars to improve on infrastructure.

Some of the visited hospitals included Pakwach, Mubende, Aduku, Mwizi and Iganga. The Auditor general team found that supply of equipments were made in 2013 but remained lying idle  in corridors and verandas.

The officials faced it rough when asked by the committee to produce the project coordinator Peter Nsubuga who was not in attendance since his contract had expired last week 17th August according to the permanent secretary Asuman Lukwago.

The committee recommended that Nsubuga avails himself to parliament and if he fails police is to arrest him by this week to explain why they never had an assessment form before supply of equipment that now lies idle in hospitals. The Permanent Secretary Asuman Lukwago admitted to and apologized before the committee for having setback this project which needed to reduce on the infant mortality rate.

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