Parliament questions army rental fees
Mar 13, 2007
THE defence permanent secretary, Brig. Noble Mayombo, on Monday had a hard time convincing MPs to drop a query on houses for which the ministry pays rent of sh16m monthly.
By Mary Karugaba
THE defence permanent secretary, Brig. Noble Mayombo, on Monday had a hard time convincing MPs to drop a query on houses for which the ministry pays rent of sh16m monthly.
The four houses in Muyenga, are occupied by expatriates and owned by Gera Mosha, the wife of Kampala mayor Nasser Ssebagala.
The query was contained in the Auditor General (AG) 2004/5 financial year report to the Public Accounts Committee.
According to the report, the ministry paid sh100m as part payment of rental bills for 10 months. The AG pointed out that there was no Government valuer’s report on which the rental fees were based.
“The ministry states that the Government Valuer’s report was available, but none was produced for verification,†the report stated.
He also stated that the ministry did not deduct sh6m in respect of 6% withholding tax on the amount paid.
Mayombo also expressed concern over the amount of money involved but said the fees were recommended by the Chief Government Valuer.
He said the valuation report put each of the houses at sh5.4m per month but the ministry re-negotiated the deal. The committee ordered the CID to get the valuation report.
THE defence permanent secretary, Brig. Noble Mayombo, on Monday had a hard time convincing MPs to drop a query on houses for which the ministry pays rent of sh16m monthly.
The four houses in Muyenga, are occupied by expatriates and owned by Gera Mosha, the wife of Kampala mayor Nasser Ssebagala.
The query was contained in the Auditor General (AG) 2004/5 financial year report to the Public Accounts Committee.
According to the report, the ministry paid sh100m as part payment of rental bills for 10 months. The AG pointed out that there was no Government valuer’s report on which the rental fees were based.
“The ministry states that the Government Valuer’s report was available, but none was produced for verification,†the report stated.
He also stated that the ministry did not deduct sh6m in respect of 6% withholding tax on the amount paid.
Mayombo also expressed concern over the amount of money involved but said the fees were recommended by the Chief Government Valuer.
He said the valuation report put each of the houses at sh5.4m per month but the ministry re-negotiated the deal. The committee ordered the CID to get the valuation report.