The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Public Accounts Committee (PAC)-Central Government has thrown out Entebbe Regional Referral Hospital officials for failure to provide several accounting documents. The officials appeared Tuesday before the committee led by the hospital director, Dr. Petersen Kyebambe to respond to audit queries in the Auditor General’s report for the financial year 2020/2021.
Some of the queries raised by the Auditor-General, John Muwanga include the failure of the hospital to absorb Shillings 190 million of the Shillings 2.26billion budget, failure to submit adequate wage estimates to the Ministry of Public Service leading to wage shortfalls due to lack of clarity and analysis of estimates, payment of Shillings 7.3 million to 3 staff that had either retired, been transferred, absconded or died, over deduction of Shillings 6.5 million from staff salaries to pay loans and delayed access to the payroll.
However, before Kyebambe could respond to the queries, Tororo South Member of parliament, Fredrick Angura raised a procedural matter asking that the hospital officials first submit their financial reports. He said that without the financials, the committee couldn’t proceed since these are the basis for the queries.
Silas Aogon, the Kumi Municipality MP also raised concern that the hospital officials needed to provide the required financial documents to ensure that they meet the committee checklist. Asuman Basalirwa, the PAC Vice Chairperson noted that the invitation letter they sent to the officials was clear on the documentation required.
The documents required are responses to queries as highlighted in the Auditor General’s report, final accounts, audited project accounts including financial statements, and relevant supporting documents to the audit responses. The clerk to the committee noted that they had only received responses to the queries with no other supporting documents. This prompted Basalirwa to ask Dr. Kyebambe about the required documents.
Aogon noted that Entebbe hospital officials seemed not ready to respond to the audit queries given that they didn’t have the required accounting documents. He also noted that the document they had presented to the committee seemed to be addressed to an internal audit but not the Auditor General’s report. Aogon asked that the committee ejects the officials so that they organize their presentation and return at a later stage.
Basalirwa directed Dr. Kyebambe to prepare all key documents required by PAC in response to the audit query and adjourned the meeting. He said that the committee would communicate another date for the hospital officials to appear again.
Dr. Kyebambe was in the company of the Principal Hospital Administrator, Muhammed Mubiru, Senior Procurement Officer Sam Semakula, and the Senior Accountant Waliyah Nalweyiso.
*****
URN
