Water Ministry officials questioned over unauthorised expenditures
The Public Accounts Committee (Central Government) failed to seek parliamentary approval to spend an additional shillings 25.3 billion in water and sanitation projects in strategic towns and therefore was subject to scrutiny by the Public Accounts Committee (Central Government) and by the Public Accounts Committee (Central Government).
Appear before the Chairman of the Committee. Muwanga Kivumbi on Tuesday, March 11, 2024, ministry officials led by Permanent Secretary Alfred Okot failed to demonstrate why they did not process supplementary budget requests for additional funds spent.
The annual review ended December 2024 showed that shillings 25.3 billion were conducted from the previous fiscal year without authorization.
The project’s external financing budget is 22.7 billion shillings, but has remitted 48.01 billion shillings. The total funds available for expenditure totaled 58.1 billion shillings.
According to the accounting officer, the direct payments made by donors to consultants and contractors are attributed to excessive funding.
The strategic town project manager at Felix Twinomucunguzi said the COVID-19 pandemic had negatively impacted physical and financial performance, resulting in planned activities and budget delays. In the subsequent fiscal years, project activity accelerated, resulting in excessive budget allocation.
However, Kivumbi dismissed the reason. “The law is clear; any additional expenditure outside the approval of the budget must pass a supplementary request to the parliament. However, here, shillings 2.3 billion were spent without approval. That was illegal and unconstitutional,” he said.
honor. Jessica Ababiku (NRM, women’s representative in the Adjustumani region) questioned why the ministry failed to disclose how external factors such as Covid-19 and the Ukrainian-Russian war affect project costs. “Why don’t you give auditors all these trivial rewards?” she asked.
TwinoMucunguzi acknowledged the inconsistency in spending collapse and noted that additional funds were used for contractual activities, including compensation and logistical adjustments.
However, MPs dismissed the explanation, saying that all expenditures beyond the approved budget require previous parliamentary mandates.
Emmanuel Mugunga, under the Secretary-General, tried to downplay the issue, believing that the funds were not new but unmonetary resources from the previous fiscal year. “This is not another resource; it’s just that there is no money spent, but it’s available now,” he said.
However, Kivumbi dismissed the explanation, saying that any unpaid funds must be redistributed through the supplementary budget process. “The Public Fiscal Administration Act is clear; unpaid funds don’t tumble automatically. You either include them in the next budget cycle or deal with supplements. Anything else is illegal,” he said.
The Commission directed the ministry to provide a comprehensive breakdown of expenditures and formally explained why no additional request was made. Failure to comply may lead to further accountability measures against the ministry officials responsible for financial oversight.
Meanwhile, regarding the stagnant project, Twinomucunguzi said that Covid-19 and the Russian-Ukrainian war had seriously affected the operation. The committee then appointed him to explain why some projects did not make progress. “One of the most affected countries are China and India, which is our main source of materials, especially steel pipes. The production lines are restricted,” he said.
Issued by Apo Group on behalf of the Parliament of the Republic of Uganda.
