PAC probes UGX 398m unaccounted for by the courts

Kampala, Uganda |  THE INDEPENDENT |  The Solicitor General Francis Atoke has withdrawn the undersecretary at the Judiciary from a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) session in Parliament over a questionable 398 million Shillings expenditure.

The undersecretary Maureen Kasande had been asked to explain an expenditure of 398 million Shillings which lacked supporting documents as per the Auditor General’s report for the 2018/2019 financial year. Kasande had appeared before the committee alongside other accounting officers of institutions under the Justice Law and Order Sector (JLOS), on Monday.

According to the  Auditor-General’s report, various courts across the country failed to provide the vouchers, receipts and activity reports for funds used last year.  At the beginning of the session, PAC Chairperson Nathan Nandala Mafabi asked Kasande whether she was competent to respond to the queries even though she was not the accounting officer at the time. 

Kasande stated that accountability files had been obtained except for the three courts of Makindye, Moyo and Lugazi. She also presented documents and requested that the accountability be verified.

However, Mafabi, argued that accountability should have been provided during the audit process. He added that the courts were using money from the current financial year to account for funds misappropriated under the year in question.

He further put the Solicitor General to the task to explain whether the law allows parliament to verify accountability documents submitted after the audit process. But Atoke noted that he played his part by providing funds, which accounting officers of the institution should account for and be held liable for any anomalies. 

Atoke noted that the Judiciary was under investigation by the Inspectorate of Government (IG), the State House Anti-Corruption Unit and the Criminal Intelligence and Investigations Department (CIID). The investigations are based on reports of misappropriation of funds by the former Permanent Secretary of the Judiciary Kagole Kivumbi, during the financial year 2017/2018.

But as MPs queried Kasande’s competence to respond to the queries, Atoke argued that he had kept hinting that Kasande did not have the competence to respond to the queries even though she insisted on answering questions. He noted that audit queries have onerous implications for those involved and that Kasande was putting herself in a difficult position.

Atoke barred Kasande from responding to any further questions and noted that the undersecretary was out of her depth.

Kasande finally conceded that she does not have the competence to respond to the queries since they occurred during a time when the Kagole Kivumbi was the permanent secretary of the Judiciary.

The committee said that it will have to meet the substantive accounting officer. He also asked Kasande for the schedule of movement of funds for the JLOS Judiciary account in Bank of Uganda. He noted that the committee wanted to examine funds that were moved onto commercial bank accounts and who authorized the movement.

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