How Muhakanizi is ploting to end hemorrhage of public funds

By Obed K Katureebe

Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury Keith Muhakanizi is such a blunt man. When things have not worked according to the expected standard, he is always quick to apologise where things could have gone wrong.

However, when accused falsely he loses his usual cool and cheerful demeanor and he will come all guns blazing to defend his reputation.

While appearing before the Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee weeks ago, Muhakanizi swore to resign, if city lawyer Bob Kasango implicates him in the sh15.4b financial loss he is alleged to have committed when he illegally got paid from the Ministry of Public Service as legal claims for the pensioners who had sued the Government.

It is alleged that lawyers Bob Kasango and John Matovu colluded with some Government officials in the Ministry of Public Service, Attorney General, Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs and Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning to steal sh15.4b using ‘forged’ signature of Justice John E Keitirima. The ‘forged’ signature was one of the many incentives that occasioned the fraudulent payment.

 The two lawyers were alleged to be representing a section of pensioners that had sued the Government demanding payment for their pension that was not forthcoming.  Muhakanizi knows he is clean in this whole scandal and that is the reason he is offering to resign in the event he is implicated.

On the contrary, Muhakanizi has superintended over drastic reforms that have seen immeasurable improvements in all government departments and hence saving the Government a lot of money that was being stolen before he assumed for control of the ministry.

Muhakanizi assumed office in May 2013 at the peak of the financial scandals ever witnessed in the history of Uganda. The Government of Uganda had lost over sh60b in the Office of the Prime Minister through ghost payments. This was before the Basajjabalaba scam where sh142b was lost in bloated compensation saga. And then of course the still raging pension scandal where over sh165b is believed to have been stolen through ghost payments. In fact, more recent revelations point to a much higher figure where over sh600b is believed to have been stolen.

While giving a speech at a sendoff party for former finance minister last month, Maria Kiwanuka, Muhakanizi revealed several measures undertaken by the Government to end financial hemorrhage occasioned by the Kazindas of the previous years. He said the Government was now saving over sh300b annually as a result of cleaning up payroll system with an information system called the Integrated  Personnel and Payroll System (IPPS) This system captures individual worker’s personal details and payments to all civil servants is made using this system.

On top of that, the Government has localised the payments of salaries of civil servants and pension largely because this system enables payments to persons who have been verified by the auditor general’s and the accounting officer. Local departmental heads in their respective areas also participate in the verifications and authentication of the claimants unlike before when everything was done at the centre.

Muhakanizi also revealed how the Government had closed all thousands of accounts previously held and operated my ministries, departments and agencies. The Government now operates one account in BOU. Any form of transaction carried out is tagged on the individual who transact. Here, if anyone attempted any fraud or otherwise, he or she will be traceable and held accountable.

This of course has been reinforced by the Integrated Financial Management Management System, which is efficient due to being electronic and thus linking the different departments that are involved in payment and effective given that payments are made to rightful beneficiaries and basing on the items budgeted (meaning that budgeting is done more precisely on item by item) the IFMS further has the ability to secure funds for those items requisitioned, this enables  First in First out FIFO payment. Furthermore, the system is designed in a way that the accounting officer is fully in charge of all payments given that they do the approval at requisitioning and do the final validation before final payment.

All these are well intentioned approaches. They are not 100% foul proof. Some sophisticated criminals must be designing ways of how to go about all these remedial actions but it will not be as easy as it used to be.

On the other hand, the investigating and auditing organs of the Government are putting their houses to order and getting better. The main financial scams in the recent times, that is; OPM, UBC, Pension, Basajjabalaba etc have all been busted by these organs of government. The Katosi Road outrage was exposed by the IGG and ministry of finance.

We have a long way to attain Excellency in curbing financial impropriety but the gains so far achieved are very promising.       

The author works with Uganda Media Centre- Office of the President