The Parliamentary Local Government Public Accounts Committee has found financial irregularities in Kaliro District Local Government, resulting in the loss of 10 billion Shillings over seven years. This situation occurred between 2014 and 2021, when various anti-corruption agencies began investigating Kaliro District’s questionable operations.
The discovery comes from an inquiry in the Auditor General’s report, which shows that some pensioners received incorrect payments, possibly as part of a fraud scheme. District officials are also criticized for not deducting local service tax and pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) from employees’ salaries, causing significant financial losses for the government.
Moreover, they are accused of deducting payments for unauthorized loans taken by some local government workers, who claim they were unaware of or not involved in approving such loans. Acting PAC Chairperson Mutebi Wanzala, who is also Nakasongola MP, highlighted an irregular payment of 492.7 million Shillings made as gratuity to 12 retired employees, which exceeded the expected pay grade.
Mutebi revealed that Kaliro Chief Finance Officer, Godfrey Mutome, collaborated with other public officers to create a fictitious general account at Stanbic Bank’s Iganga branch, diverting funds from the recognized DFCU account to this unknown account. In response, Kaliro District Chief Administrative Officer, Samuel Bigirwa, accused Mutome of working secretly with other district officials to link the legitimate district account in DFCU to their fictitious Stanbic Bank account.
This resulted in unknowingly depositing some district funds into the fictitious account. Bigirwa stated that Mutome, the sole signatory of this fictitious account, used his influence to hide information about these fraudulent transactions, which only came to light after his suspension late last year. Mutome, also the Kaliro District Workers’ Sacco Chairperson, wrongfully deducted funds as monthly Sacco remittances from his colleagues without their consent.
Mutebi also disclosed that the Auditor General is currently conducting a forensic audit of Kaliro District’s financial transactions to identify the loopholes responsible for the mismanagement of public funds. Mutebi instructed Bigirwa to lead efforts to recover the overpaid funds to pension beneficiaries, demonstrating accountability for the district’s allocated money.
Bigirwa, on the other hand, mentioned that cases related to the loss of pension funds and general payroll mismanagement are pending in court, awaiting a verdict before further actions are taken. However, Bigirwa added that they would prepare a recovery plan for the 11.4 million Shillings irregularly paid to retired workers who were no longer on the payroll.
