Who is Akol, the new Auditor General?

Parliament’s appointments Committee will on Thursday meet and vet the newly nominated Auditor General, Edward Akol.

This was after President Yoweri Museveni forwarded Akol’s nomination to Parliament for approval.

Akol replaces John Muwanga, who has been in office since 2001.

Described by colleagues as a humble, kind, considerate and professional auditor, Akol is a true description of a worker, who has risen through the ranks.

“He deserves to be the Auditor General. We believe his appointment was on merit because he has served through all the ranks. He knows the ins and outs of this office. He is a person, who does not compromise his integrity even if you are his friend,” a close colleague said.

Akol joined the Office of the Auditor General as an auditor in August 1994.

He was later promoted to senior auditor in July 1999 and later became a senior principal auditor in May 2004. Currently, he serves as the deputy auditor general in charge of audit.

He has immense experience in auditing donor-funded government projects.

Outgoing Auditor General John Muwanga (left) with Edward Akol while appearing before the select committee probing NSSF operations in February 2023. File Photo

In addition to his bachelor of commerce (accounting) degree from Makerere University that he attained in 1993, Akol is a Certified Public Accountant.

He also holds a master’s of business administration (MBA) from Heriot-Watt University — Edinburgh Business School in the UK.

Akol has certificates in the training of trainers from the Office of the Auditor General (1997), foreign aid accounting and auditing from Uganda Management Institute (2002), as well as information technology auditing and instructional techniques from the African Association of Supreme Audit Institutions (2011 and 2002, respectively).

He also holds a certificate in African Development Bank project implementation (1999) and forensic investigations and money laundering (Zambia, 2006).

When contacted on Tuesday, Akol told New Vision that he had not yet received any confirmation about his appointment. “I have been out of office and I have not received any letter in relation to what you are saying. I have only seen letters flying around. For now, it remains speculation. Let’s wait until I get the letters about what you are saying (appointment),” he said.

According to Muwanga, auditors promote good governance, transparency and effective accountability in the management and use of public resources.

“Audit reports are a credible, independent and objective source of information to our stakeholders on whether public resources are being utilised to improve service delivery to the citizens and foster development of our country,” he said in a statement posted on their website.

Muwanga added: “Our role and responsibilities while reporting on government expenditure, have further expanded to include better engagement with the citizens and stakeholders.”