MPs grill Unra officials over Shs4.6b
Unra Executive Director Allen Kagina (right) appears before Cosase at Parliament yesterday. PHOTO | DAVID LUBOWA
What you need to know:
- The legislators also want the Unra officials who were yesterday led by the Executive Director, Ms Allen Kagina, to explain why similar diversions were made on funds that were budgeted for other projects.
Members of Parliament (MPs) on the Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (Cosase) yesterday asked the Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra) leadership to account for more than Shs4.5b said to have been diverted.
While scrutinising the Auditor General’s report for the Financial Year (FY) 2020/2021, the MPs observed that Shs98.7b was originally budgeted to cater for employment expenses, however, only Shs93.7b was utilised.
“The face of the financial statement indicated Shs98.3b. The actual expenditure indicated that Shs93.7 billion was spent. Why did you show a different figure in the face of the financial statement? That is window-dressing,” the Kasese Municipality MP, Mr Ferigo Kambale, said.
He added: “Why did you hide the Shs4.6 billion and went ahead to indicate that you spent Shs98.3 billion yet the file indicates that the actual payments was Shs93.7 billion?”
The legislators also want the Unra officials who were yesterday led by the Executive Director, Ms Allen Kagina, to explain why similar diversions were made on funds that were budgeted for other projects.
The director of corporate services, Ms Edna Rugumayo, could not adduce evidence for projects on which the money was spent.
“It is true that while we received a release of Shs98.3 billion, we spent Shs93.7 billion on actual salaries and related costs,” Ms Rugumayo said.
In attempts to seek deeper clarity on the matter, the Kyadondo East MP, Mr Nkunyingi Muwada, and the Committee vice chairperson, Ms Lucy Akello, insisted that Ms Rugumayo and her department table a list of projects on which the money was spent.
“We want to appreciate whether there was an attempt to seek approval of the diversion, Mr Muwada said before adding: “Otherwise it might be a decoy to say the money was spent on staff and employees and yet it was diverted.”
In response, Ms Rugumayo pledged that her office and other requisite units in Unra would avail the lists of projects today.
The Unra officials are also expected to return in furtherance of the probe into the queries raised.
The probe
The probe seeks to establish whether the diverted funds were actually spent on areas that Unra management reported to the committee.
Many of such units where money is said to have been spent include road maintenance and similar construction projects.
Background. Before the House slid into a month-long recess in September, the committee on Cosase chaired by the Nakawa West MP, Mr Joel Ssenyonyi, grilled Uganda Airlines officials over a string of irregularities that had also been raised.
