The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Secretary to the Treasury Keith Muhakanizi has blamed the perennial budget deficits on government officials.
He was on Thursday appearing before Parliament’s Finance Committee chaired by Rubanda East MP Henry Muhakanizi.
Muhakanizi was tasked by Budadiri West MP Nathan Nandala Mafabi together with Lugazi Municipality MP Ssozi Mulindwa to explain the budget deficits and criteria used to pay off mandamus court payments.
Auditor General John Muwanga has in his previous audit reports queried accumulated court awards.
In his response, Muhakanizi said that top government officials don’t heed to his advice on finances.
“When I go naked, the Ministers get angry. When you increase wages, that is cabinet and President, remember these are powerful people, when you create permanent structures, like cities, we can’t cry over something you have created. These things are created without my knowledge. How can I manage when powerful people aren’t respecting my advice?” asked Muhakanizi.
He also said that the system makes secretary to treasury a powerful man when he shouldn’t be since he shouldn’t be questioning accountability.
In regard to court awards, Muhakanizi said that the system was working smoothly until the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs sought to have the system decentralized.
He said that the Ministry of Finance had saved Shillings 5 billion but the development came with rumour-mongering and that the decentralization is reason for the crisis of garnishee orders currently witnessed.
“When you see these bad roads in Kampala, my suspicion is that KCCA doesn’t have money because all the money went to court awards. It is possible they are not working on any problem anymore. Having disregarded my advice, stop crying,” Muhakanizi said.
Documents presented before Parliament’s Budget Committee in April 2019 indicated that KCCA accounts were garnished to a tune of Shillings 16.2 billion over unpaid debts.
A garnishee order is commonly used to enforce court debt judgments against a creditor to recover money.
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