The Office of the Auditor General headed by John Muwanga (pictured) has revealed that a forensic audit into the major projects by the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) will cost over Shs1. 5bn, part of which funds will be used to hire international auditors to supplement his local team.
“In this regard, Shs1,553, 645,250 is required to cater for the consultant engineers fees and also to cater for the necessary field requirements as part of the special investigations. This is therefore to request you to avail the said funding to enable me proceed with the appointment process,” read in part the letter by Auditor General, John Muwanga as response to Minister of Finance Planning and Economic Development request to conduct a forensic audit into NSSF projects.
The revelation was made during the plenary sitting following the debate into report by the select Committee into NSSF affairs, which had recommended a forensic audit into key projects undertaken by the Office of Auditor General, a recommendation Betty Amongi, Minister of Gender, Labour & Social Development welcomed but expressed reservations about the Auditor General’s capacity to carry works of such magnitude.
Minister Amongi said, “When I submitted the matter to the Auditor General, he replied and said, he doesn’t have the capacity to do it. We had a meeting with Minister of Finance, Matia Kasaija and we agreed that he will find money to enable them to have money to hire international auditors to support the Auditor General.”
However, her remarks attracted protests from both Speaker Among and Nandala Mafabi (Budadiri West) who tasked Minister Amongi to withdraw her remarks questioning the competence of the Auditor General to conduct an audit into NSSF with Mafabi arguing that every year, the Auditor General presents before Parliament audited report of NSSF, and a forensic audit shouldn’t be beyond the Auditor General’s capacity to conduct.
Nandala said, “The Minister should withdraw her statement saying she wanted international firms because they don’t have capacity. The Auditor General is free to appoint private auditors, and when you appoint private auditors, you pay them. So what the Auditor General proposed it is allowed, but to come and say he is incompetent, I detest it in totality and that is why I want the Minister of Gender to withdraw that statement before we can proceed.”
In response, Minister Amongi said, “I withdraw the part of having no capacity but on record, but in the letter written by the Auditor General he said he needed to hire external consultant engineers to supplement my support staff in examining the engineering aspects of the special audit. So the external auditors for doing such magnitude of the work is what I meant when the Auditor General indicated that in house technical support is lacking.”
Information before Parliament indicates that if funds are availed, the Auditor General will undertake investigations into Pension Towers, Temangalo land project and NSSF’s housing projects in Lubowa.
