The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Out of UGX38.8 bn that was disbursed to 5,505 groups, on average, only 26.7% was recovered from the youth country wide.
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A 2018 audit report by the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) has revealed that almost Sh28.4billion may never be recovered as almost 64% of the sampled Youth Livelihood Program (YLP) projects were non-existent.
Highlights of the OAG 2018 Audit report show that from a total of UGX 38.8 bn that was disbursed to 5,505 groups in the financial years 2013/14 and 2014/15, only 26.7% was recovered from the youth countrywide.
These highlights were discussed during a strategic meeting between Civil Society actors and the OAG where CSBAG, on the invite of the OAG, brought together Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) from across the country to discuss the 2018 audit findings early this week. The report also reveals that for FY 2015/16 to FY 2017/18, there was a noted improvement of recoveries.
“Out of UGX83.3 bn disbursed, recoveries rose from 24% in 2015/16 to 60% in 2017/18.” Reads part of the report.
Fighting Corruption
Maxwell Ogentho, the Director Corporate Affairs at the OAG recognized CSOs as representatives of the people and urged citizens to take action and bring about positive change in the country. Ogentho also said that fighting corruption should be accompanied with increasing success factors and reducing on the failure factors. He added that accountability has a close link to service delivery.
“Accountability is not only about how money has been used but also what services the money has been used to provide,” said Ogentho.
Other 2018 Audit findings
In 2018, the OAG undertook a total of 1919 audits. Such audits were financial, forensic and IT, value for money, and engineering audits.
The report shows that in the audit year 2018, financial reporting improved. However, there were bigger audit issues that arose in the same year such as un-accounted for funds, mischarge of expenditure, and wasteful expenditure.
An audit on management of wetlands by the Ministry of Water and Environment noted that cancellation of land titles in wetlands approved by the cabinet had not been funded by the Finance Ministry, and this hindered its implementation.
The report also highlights that whereas government’s aim was to increase intact wetland coverage to 12% by 2020, only 0.3% of the required area had been restored in the four years under review, leaving a restoration shortfall of 99.7%.
Public Debt Management
The national debt has increased by 22% from UGX 33.99 trillion as at June 2017 to UGX 41.51 trillion as at30th June 2018.
The report highlights that although absorption of external debt has improved compared to last financial year, there were some loans with absorption levels as low as 10% and below.
While giving the closing remarks at the meeting, Bbiir Kiwanuka Nassa, the Executive Director of the Mid-Western Region Anti-Corruption Coalition (MIRAC) urged the OAG to support capacity building of CSOs such that they can play an active role in the audit function.
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SOURCE: CSBAG
