Auditor General asks URA to close six bank accounts

The Auditor General has asked Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) to close six accounts spread in different commercial banks. 

In a report for the period ended June 2020, Auditor General John Muwanga also instructed URA to transfer all its operations accounts to Bank of Uganda to streamline operations of the Treasury.

In the report, Mr Muwanga noted with concern why URA had decided to operate accounts in commercial banks, contrary to the Public Finance Management, 2015. 

The six operations accounts, according to the Auditor General, have a combined sum of approximately Shs1 trillion. 
“This frustrates the cash flow management process of the Treasury, distorts monetary policy and allows URA to override financial management controls,” Mr Muwanga noted in the report, advising URA to transfer all operations accounts to Bank of Uganda.

However, the report does not indicate in which commercial banks the accounts are held. 
Efforts to get more details in regard to the Auditor General’s concerns were futile as all known phone contacts for Commissioner General John Musinguzi Rujoki had been out of reach by press time. 

Mr Ian Rumanyika, the URA acting assistant commissioner public and corporate affairs, had by press time not responded to our inquiries in regard to the Auditor General’s audit queries. 

The report also highlighted a number of other audit queries, which mainly touched URA’s corporate services, key among them the award of multi-year contracts to the tune of Shs57.2b, yet the tax agency had not availed evidence of approval and commitment by Parliament. 

The multi-year contracts, the Auditor General noted, mainly comprised of contracts signed for support and maintenance of systems and motor vehicle financing.

During the period, it was also noted that an analysis of the payment to short-term employees revealed that on average, 232 employees were hand-picked, given temporary employment contracts and paid a monthly basic salary, transport and housing allowances. 

“I noted that despite spending Shs4b on such employees, URA does not have a policy for short-term employees, which exposes the recruitment and remuneration to abuse,” Mr Muwanga noted. The report also highlighted that URA, which in 2018, had entered its newly constructed offices (URA Tower) had not utilised the provision for a car park at the tower due to miscommunication between the project manager, structural engineer and the contractor. 

The floor, which provides parking space for at least 360 cars, is yet to be finished in accordance with specifications, according to the Auditor General. 

The Auditor General also noted that review of a schedule of IT systems being maintained by URA had not been well streamlined with a “number of systems [appearing] to be duplicating the functions and roles of others.”

For instance, the Auditor General noted, the Imperva Solution, which should ideally provide a multi-layered protection to ensure that URA’s websites and applications are always available and secure, is being duplicated by a number of software applications such as Intellinx and Privileged Account Management Solution, among others. 

The report also noted that URA could have avoided expenditure worth Shs53.4b, comprising Shs34.861b acquisition costs and Shs18.624b in maintenance. 

Low returns      
The Auditor General also noted that the performance of the Tax Payer Registration and Expansion Project (TREP) was lower than expected with collaborating institutions registering only 142,620 taxpayers against a target of 283,615 during the 2019/20 financial year. 

The performance represented just 50.2 per cent of registration success, the report noted, adding only Shs26.8b was collected through the system against a target of Shs124.58b. 

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