KAMPALA – The Ministry of Finance has pledged firm action against those responsible for the payroll discrepancies, promising that they “will be sanctioned,” declared Uganda’s Secretary to the Treasury, Ramathan Ggoobi.
Ggoobi made this declaration during a meeting with teams from the public service and local government ministries held on Saturday.
The meeting was convened to address the findings of the recent government payroll audit conducted by the Auditor General, as well as to discuss the wage bill for the upcoming financial year (2024/2025).
This gathering took place as part of a three-day retreat organized by the finance ministry to deliberate on the budget for the 2024/2025 financial year.
According to the Auditor General’s report, there were 1,796 ghost employees identified on the government payroll, including individuals with forged appointments, deceased individuals, and those who had absconded or retired but were still receiving payments.
“The Ministry of Public Service has recommended the removal of these irregular entries from the February 2024 payroll, along with other measures aimed at holding the responsible parties accountable,” stated the finance ministry via its official social media platform.
The report also highlighted that 22 ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) along with 19 local governments had diverted funds from the wage budget to fund other activities.
Ggoobi emphasized the finance ministry’s commitment to addressing wage shortfalls and related issues.
He was accompanied by his technical team, while Public Service Ministry Permanent Secretary Catherine Bitarakwate Musingwire and Commissioner Cyprian Chillanyang from the local government ministry also participated in the meeting.
Ggoobi underscored that all accounting officers, human resource officers, and finance officers implicated in the payroll discrepancies will face disciplinary action.
The Auditor General’s findings revealed that the government had disbursed 53 billion Ugandan shillings to non-existent employees.
During the retreat’s second day, discussions covered budgets for various sectors including agro-industrialization, security, innovation, technology development, private sector development, tourism, manufacturing, and human capital development.
In addition to deliberating on the upcoming budget, the retreat aimed to re-prioritize expenditure allocations to ensure that all critical government interventions are adequately funded, thus minimizing the need for supplementary appropriations.
The issuance of the second budget call circular is anticipated next week on February 15, through which the finance ministry will communicate the available resources to guide accounting officers in finalizing draft estimates of revenue and expenditure for the next financial year.
