20 passports spoilt weekly
Oct 04, 2007
TWENTY passports are spoilt weekly during processing at the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
By Cyprian Musoke
TWENTY passports are spoilt weekly during processing at the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Appearing before the public accounts committee to answer queries from the Auditor General’s report yesterday, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Stephen Kagoda, said a total of 1,072 ordinary passports worth sh53m were spoilt in 2005-06.
In addition, three diplomatic passports worth sh150,000, three official passports worth sh150,000 and three East African passports worth sh680,000 were spoilt.
Kagoda attributed the losses to errors from both the staff and applicants who sometimes fill in wrong information on the forms, in which case they pay for the loss.
Failures in the system, errors of omission and commission were also identified as some of the causes of the losses.
“If we assume 260 working days, then the average number of spoilt passports could be 1,112, which amounts to 4 passports per day, and 20 per week. This level of spoilage should not be alarming,†Kagoda said.
The Auditor General also queried the continued use of visa stamps by mission heads instead of stickers.
He said this exposes revenue collection to manipulation, as it creates no record against which the collections can be verified.
Committee chairman Nandala Mafabi told Kagoda to ask the missions to stop the practice.
Kagoda said the ministry had instituted an inspection team to carry out spot-on checks in some missions.
The Auditor General also queried domestic arrears amounting to sh26m and contingent liabilities worth sh20b, the construction of a sh60m immigration block at Malaba, which exceeded the contract period by four months, moreover with poor workmanship.
TWENTY passports are spoilt weekly during processing at the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Appearing before the public accounts committee to answer queries from the Auditor General’s report yesterday, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Stephen Kagoda, said a total of 1,072 ordinary passports worth sh53m were spoilt in 2005-06.
In addition, three diplomatic passports worth sh150,000, three official passports worth sh150,000 and three East African passports worth sh680,000 were spoilt.
Kagoda attributed the losses to errors from both the staff and applicants who sometimes fill in wrong information on the forms, in which case they pay for the loss.
Failures in the system, errors of omission and commission were also identified as some of the causes of the losses.
“If we assume 260 working days, then the average number of spoilt passports could be 1,112, which amounts to 4 passports per day, and 20 per week. This level of spoilage should not be alarming,†Kagoda said.
The Auditor General also queried the continued use of visa stamps by mission heads instead of stickers.
He said this exposes revenue collection to manipulation, as it creates no record against which the collections can be verified.
Committee chairman Nandala Mafabi told Kagoda to ask the missions to stop the practice.
Kagoda said the ministry had instituted an inspection team to carry out spot-on checks in some missions.
The Auditor General also queried domestic arrears amounting to sh26m and contingent liabilities worth sh20b, the construction of a sh60m immigration block at Malaba, which exceeded the contract period by four months, moreover with poor workmanship.