The new Auditor General, Edward Akol, Wednesday presented the 2023/24 Annual Auditor General’s report to Parliament, his maiden annual report. The report received by the Deputy Speaker, Thomas Tayebwa, details how Ministries, Departments & Agencies (MDAs) spent the money they received for the year ending June 2024.
Snippets of the report, however, showcase the government’s unseriousness in handling the budgeted money, most of which has been borrowed from local lenders, donors, foreign governments, and development partners.
Several overpaid pensioners
The Auditor General warns that if no reforms are undertaken in the government’s pension sector, Ugandan taxpayers would be spending over UGX4.5 trillion in pension and gratuity by 2034. He revealed that the government overpaid several pensioners to a tune of about UGX31.2Bn in pension and gratuity.
“The sustainability of our pension system faces mounting pressure from multiple fronts, such as early retirement policies, allowing exits at the age of 45, enhanced pay for science professionals, among others. From my analysis, I project a 12% annual increase in retirees over the next decade with pension liabilities exceeding UGX4.5 trillion annually by 2034,” explained Akol.
“The pension system audit has revealed critical challenges that demand attention. I noted that 1502 pensioners were overpaid gratuity benefits of Shs22.3Bn. These overpayments were in 19 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and 115 Local Governments. In addition, 2193 pensioners were overpaid pensioner benefits by Shs8.9 billion, and this was in 23 MDAs and 104 Local Governments,” noted Akol.
Low absorption of funds
The Auditor General also expressed concerns over the low absorption of funds in the national budget, which he said is affecting service delivery, noting, “For FY 2023/24, the initial budget was UGX52.7 trillion; it was later revised upwards to UGX61.4 trillion. However, only UGX54.3 trillion was warranted, leaving an unfunded gap of UGX7.1 trillion. even more concerning, of the warranted, only UGX47 trillion was spent. This underutilisation is impacting service delivery across government corporations.”
Health ministry destroys medicine worth GX316.65Bn
The Ministry of Health destroyed COVID-19 vaccines, ARVs, and test kits worth UGX316.65 billion in 2023/24, which is an increase from drugs worth UGX33 billion destroyed in 2022/23.
“In the health sector, there are substantial challenges of expiration of medical supplies. The government had to write off UGX316.65 billion worth of COVID-19 vaccines, ARVs, and test kits, an increase from last year’s UGX33 billion. This represents a significant waste of resources that could have served other pressing healthcare needs,” noted Akol.
The Auditor General also called for urgent intervention in addressing the human resource needs of Uganda’s healthcare sector, revealing that Mulago National Referral Hospital’s ICU is operating only 15 beds out of 27, which is just 56% of its capacity due to staff shortages.
“Critical equipment remains unutilised in several hospitals because of a lack of trained personnel to operate them. The health infrastructure department of the Ministry of Health requires Shs20 billion annually for equipment maintenance but receives only Shs1.8 billion,” added Akol.
Poor waste management in Uganda
The Auditor General also raised concerns over poor waste management in Uganda, revealing that Cities & Municipalities only collected 37% of the 4 million tonnes of garbage produced in their areas.
“Looking at solid waste management in our cities and municipalities, the numbers are concerning. Over the past three years, only 37% of the 4 million tonnes of generated waste was collected and dispose of. The cities collected just 34.4% of their 3.2million tonnes, while municipalities handled 50% of their 812,462 tonnes,” noted Akol.
