KAMPALA – A parliamentary committee has uncovered a major financial irregularity within the Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development (MoFPED), raising serious accountability concerns over the handling of UGX 60.4 billion in government funds.
The funds were part of the budget for the Resource Enhancement and Accountability Programme (REAP), a project designed to be co-funded by the Government of Uganda (GOU) and its development partners. For the financial year under review, the total REAP budget was UGX 72.4 billion. This was comprised of UGX 12.0 billion (approximately $3.2 million) contributed by development partners and a significantly larger sum of UGX 60.4 billion from the Ugandan treasury.
However, during a review of the ministry’s financial statements, the parliamentary committee observed a critical lack of transparency. The project unit, led by the Accounting Officer, only provided a detailed statement of income and expenditure for the UGX 12.0 billion received from development partners.
Crucially, there was no separate or detailed accounting for the expenditure of the UGX 60.409 billion government component. The committee’s report states that the Accounting Officer claimed these expenditures were “embedded in the ministry’s main report.” But upon a thorough review of that main ministry report, the committee “did not find any details regarding the expenditures of the GOU UGX 60.409bn component.”
The committee has flagged this as a severe irregularity, emphasizing that “full accountability for project funds should have been provided.” Standard procedure dictates that these funds should have been accounted for either within a dedicated project report or in a separate report specifically for the government-funded component.
This discovery suggests that a massive sum of taxpayer money, intended for a key accountability programme, has effectively vanished from public scrutiny. The lack of documentation makes it impossible to determine how the UGX 60.4 billion was spent or if it was used for its intended purposes.
The revelation has sparked public outrage, with many citizens and accountability advocates taking to social media to demand answers. A typical sentiment, echoed by many, directly accused officials at @mofpedU of having “eaten all the Ugx 60,400,000,000,” and called for the immediate attention of the Permanent Secretary, @rggoobi.
This incident poses a significant challenge to the ministry, which is tasked with safeguarding public funds and ensuring fiscal discipline across the government. The parliamentary committee is expected to demand a comprehensive explanation and full accountability for the missing billions.
