The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) has written to the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) over documents for the Equal Opportunities Commission.
The committee made the decision after officials from Equal Opportunities Commission failed to produce payment records for about 3 billion shillings spent in the months of July 2015 to April 2016.
The Auditor General noted that “During the financial year 2015/2016, there was a total expenditure of shillings 5 billion. However, we [audit team] were not availed any records for the first three quarters which totalled shillings 3 billion.”
The commission told the audit team at the time that the police had taken all documents for investigations.The management also informed the Auditor General that the commission had requested police to release the documents in vain.
The Auditor General was forced to issue a disclaimer on the financial accounts of the commission in 2015/2016 because his office had audited 30 percent of its financials.
COSASE Chairperson, Mubarak Munyagwa has now asked the clerk to write to CIID director, Grace Akullo to respond to the claims of the commission regarding the documents.
This was after the Undersecretary of the Equal Opportunities Commission, Sunday Nicholas Olwor told the committee that CID has never returned the documents.
However, the CID officers attached to the committee have told Uganda Radio Network that they are not aware of the investigations conducted on the commission in 2015 and 2016.
Munyagwa, who is also Kawempe South MP, also asked Olwor about the documents and whether CID returned them to the commission.
Ruhinda County MP, Capt. Donozio Kahonda urged Munyagwa to adjourn the meeting so that the entire commission appears with Olwor to account for the shillings 3 billion and issues that caused CIID to investigate the commission in 2016.
The Equal Opportunities Chairperson Sylvia Muwebwa Ntambi, who skipped today’s meeting, has since last month been under investigation by CID over misuse of commission funds. CID commenced the probe after it received a 20-page document from whistleblowers who accuse Ntambi of misusing funds, tribalism among other allegations.
The committee has thereby asked the Equal Opportunities Commission and the CID director to appear next Monday.
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