Parliament calls for audit of Covid-19 expenditures

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Auditor General should institute a forensic audit into all Covid-19 expenditures to ascertain value for money, the Parliamentary Task Force on the national Covid-19 response has recommended.

In its report presented to Parliament, the task force stated that government provided Shs4 trillion to finance Covid-19 expenditure since its onset in March 2020. The report states that Shs314 billion was provided in 2019/2020, Shs2.7 trillion for 2020/2021 and Shs 932 billion for 2021/22.

The task force however found that whilst Parliament appropriated Shs 22 billion to support creation of 20 isolation centres in each district and undertake surveillance centres as a means of slowing down disease transmission, no district has an isolation centre.

“Government should submit detailed accountability to Parliament for Shs22 billion to facilitate establishment of 20 isolation centres per district indicating the location in each district where such facilities were established,” MP Dicksons Kateshumbwa said while presenting part of the report on accountability and expenditures.

He also reported that a review of the external financing accountabilities submitted by the Ministry of Health revealed that most of the items that were funded were similar in nature and purpose as those funded using the government budget. “The Ministry of Health reported that Shs389 billion was received as external financing for the period March 2019 to June 2021. The contingency emergency response funds were spent on coordination, risk communication, ICT innovations, among others,” Kateshumbwa added.

Bugweri County MP, Abdu Katuntu who is also the chairperson of the task force said government is still spending large sums of money on Covid-19 containment measures at the expense of mass vaccination.

“There is an urgent need to prioritise vaccination of the 21.9 million Ugandans over the age of 18. The 4.3 million doses required should be sourced through donations, direct procurement and if possible, through private companies,” he said.  The task force proposed creation of a Covid-19 Fund to centrally receive and deploy all resources related to the management of the Covid-19 pandemic to avoid leakages, diversions and unclear prioritization.

“The task force noted that some of the accountability issues raised by the Auditor General on the management of Covid-19 funds resulted from the haphazard management of available funds without a central collection and disbursement point,” the report read in part.

The MPs also found out that health facilities were in dire need of Intensive Care Units, assorted equipment such as standard ICU beds, enough oxygen and oxygen cylinders.

“The task force recommends that the Ministry of Health follows proper planning procedures before haphazard procurement and distribution of equipment,” the report stated.

The task force was constituted by the Deputy Speaker, Anita Among comprising regional teams that visited Northern, Eastern, Western and Central regions.

The objective of the task force which commenced work on 29 June 2021 was to among others, inquire into and report on government’s preparedness and response to Covid-19 and to provide assessment of health impact of Covid-19 in the community and country at large.