The Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC)-Local Government has handed over three officials of Arua District Local Government to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) over failure to account for funds used during the financial year (FY) 2020/2021.

The PAC-Local Government, headed by Martin Ojata Mapenduzi (Bardege-Layibi), also the chairperson of the committee, was in Arua city to scrutinise the Auditor General’s report for the various West Nile districts.

The officials were summoned in relation to causing financial loss worth billions to the Government through overpayments to civil servants, gratuity, underpayments to employees, mismanagement, unwarranted deductions and payment of ghost staff among others.

Among officials handed over to CID are principal human resource officer (PHRO) Israel Echoku, former Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Donath Eswilu, now transferred to Amolatar district and current CAO Mark Jude Bukenya.

The officials were also directed to appear before the PAC Committee in Parliament on July 6, after failing to provide the needed supporting documentation to their responses.

Israel Echoku

Furthermore, Bukenya was ordered to recover sh10.1m paid to 15 ghost staff from the Echoku prior to their appearance before the committee on July 6.

The committee, after realising that, Bukenya was hesitant to give information, was subjected to confess under oath.

It was at this time when Dr Bhoka Didi George (Obongi County) also a member of the committee raised some of the queries.

“There were variations in the figures you paid out to the employees resulting in overpayments and underpayments of millions and we would like to understand from you about these irregularities,” Bhoka said.

In the response, Eswilu said they instituted recovery of funds and that up to sh600,000 had been recovered. 

He added that they are in touch with the beneficiary of the overpaid gratuity.

He, however, asked Echoku to explain the rest of the issues as the computation was done under his docket.

It was then a protracted discussion between Mapenduzi and Echoku after he exhibited ignorance of the beneficiary of the overpaid sh17m gratuity.

According to him, he does not know the beneficiary in person and his details despite paying him but contradicted himself when he was asked how they have been communicating and said, he served the beneficiary with a letter inviting him to appear before the committee.

However, when the CID contacted the beneficiary, James Afeku confessed that he had not received any letter from the Echoku though he received verbal communication from him informing him about how they would start deducting the money.

“The overpayment was due to the IPPF system error, and I apologise for what happened but saying that I should pay the money alone will be unfair because we work as a system as I download the list of staff and give it to the heads of department who approve the final list and send to the CAO," Ecoku said.

Unaccounted for funds

Among the amounts unaccounted for is sh2.1b unabsorbed wage bill taken back to the Consolidated Fund, sh17m, overpayment to various pensioners, sh37m paid to 58 ghost teachers, overpayment of 17m gratuity benefit to a pensioner, sh66.9m paid to staff who have either retired, transferred, absconded or died, sh368m unauthorised loan deductions, sh314m PAYE deductions for February not remitted to URA, sh93m spent for activities without council approval among others.