MPs ask URA to explain unauthorised spending
URA Commissioner General John Musinguzi Rujoki (right) and a team of officials from the tax body appear before the Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises at Parliament ON July 11, 2023. PHOTO/David Lubowa
What you need to know:
- The Cosase team says the Auditor General observed that whereas Parliament approved Shs534 billion for the tax body’s annual budget for the period under review, URA retained Shs34.7 billion from the previous financial year. This sum was then padded onto what was authorised for URA’s 2021/22 expenditure – in effect, meaning its budget expanded to an unapproved Shs568 billion.
Officials from the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) yesterday had a tough time explaining why they received and spent money without the knowledge and clearance of Parliament.
The House Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (Cosase) pressed Commissioner General John Musingunzi for answers as to how URA received Shs101.5 million for yet to be defined projects from the United Nations Capital Development (UNCD) fund.
MPs also demanded an explanation for $113,555 (nearly Shs418 million) accepted by the tax authority from the World Bank without clearance from Parliament as required by law.
These questions formed part of follow-up inquiries into issues raised in the Auditor General’s report for the Financial Year 2021/2022.
Attention was drawn to the monies after Auditor General John Muwanga indicated that his officers were “not provided with information that the above funds were budgeted and accordingly appropriated by Parliament.”
The committee was particularly disturbed upon learning that URA did not provide any supporting documents speaking to the clearance of the said funds.
“You escaped scrutiny by the Auditor General… You had two chances to do that during the audit and during the exit meeting. And at each of those instances, you did not avail this proof,” committee chair Joel Ssenyonyi told the tax boss.
By way of explanation, URA’s head of the legal department, Ms Patience Tumusiime, suggested that the relevant department may have been unaware of the existence of the necessary documentation.
“That was unfortunate and as the [Assistant Commissioner] Finance has explained, maybe some of these documents were lost in translation. These documents are kept within the legal department because this is an agreement that we signed,” she said.
Ms Tumusiime said since URA has “an inventory of all the agreements… we apologise for the fact that the finance team that was dealing with the auditors maybe was not able to avail [them].”
Consequently, Mr Musinguzi sought permission and was directed to present the documentation before Cosase today.
The same committee also demanded answers as to why URA withheld Shs34.7 billion from the previous financial year – also without Parliament’s knowledge or authorisation.
On Monday, Cosase had heard from the Auditor General’s principal auditor, Ms Molly Kirungi, who revealed that the revenue body did not return the billions to the Consolidated Fund and yet they were neither absorbed nor spent as originally planned.
Public finance regulations require all government departments and agencies to return unspent monies to the Consolidated Fund at the close of a financial year within which the money was budgeted for expenditure.
Beginning this week, Cosase opened hearings into suspected financial irregularities at URA with officials expected to file documents supporting responses to earlier questions as proceedings continue today.
