ICT ministry blocks Shs670m fraud

What you need to know:

  • Action. The implicated officials are under investigations.

Kampala. The Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) ministry Permanent Secretary, Mr Vincent Bagiire, has uncovered and blocked two attempts by senior officials to wire Shs673m from the ministry account to personal accounts, this newspaper can reveal.
In the first attempt in June this year, just a week to the end of the Financial Year 2017/18, 10 officials allegedly beat the system and processed the transfer of Shs414m to their personal accounts. The money was ostensibly for “facilitation and coordination” of unspecified activities.

The Accountant General, our investigation shows, raised an alert because the request was close to the lapse of the financial year when government ministries, departments and agencies are by law required to return all unused funds to the Consolidated Fund.
In a November 20 memo to the heads of departments and all staff, which is copied to the ICT Minister Frank Tumwebaze and State line minister Idah Nantaba, PS Bagiire noted that he froze a second plan by eight officials to spirit off Shs259m from the ministry account. Six of the suspects had been implicated in the first foiled scheme.
This second attempt happened this month when the PS and line ministers were away for the International Telecommunications Union summit in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. Uganda was at the time lobbying for a seat on the Governing Council of ITU and had separately presented a candidate for one of the union’s executive position.
“On a couple of occasion when I have been out of office, there have been attempts to make payments that are inconsistent with the decisions of the Finance Committee,” the PS noted in the memo, adding: “For instance, in June 2018 as I was attending the Northern Corridor [Infrastructure] Summit, I was alerted by the Accountant General’s office of Shs414,107,000 that was being charged out of the NIISP funds.”
He upon return cancelled these transactions “largely because the payments were being done five days to the end of the financial year.”
Our investigations show that the implicated officials claimed they were requisitioning the money for the second time for field visits to Kigezi, Bunyoro, Busoga and Bugisu sub-regions; attending seminars; and, facilitating again unspecified consultancy works.
Mr Bagiire noted in the memo that movement of the cash would have frozen execution of departmental activities at the ministry. He has ordered the officials to explain in writing how they got the memos to access the money. He wants their responses not later than November 27. Mr Tumwebaze declined to comment on the matter, referring this newspaper’s inquiries to the PS.
Mr Bagiire confirmed issuing the memo and said the ministry’s management committee will decide the next course of action after his office receives and analyses the written explanations.