A total of 71 accounting officers from central and local government including the Rukungiri Chief Administrative officer and the Municipal Town clerk have been dropped by the finance ministry, permanent secretary Ramathan Ggoobi over audit queries.
On 29th March 2023, Ggoobi who is also the secretary to the treasury released the names of accounting officers who he said are no longer eligible to play their roles.
As part of the budgeting process, the Ministry of finance is supposed to submit a list of eligible and ineligible accounting officers to Parliament in line with Public Finance management act 2015.
According to Ramathan Ggoobi, the dropped CAOs and town clerks were declared ineligible after they allegedly failed to account for public resources or assets and they will no longer account for their respective entities.
Some of the accounting officers dropped include Masokoyi SwaliKh Wasswa the chief administrative officer of Rukungiri, Sharifah Nakintu the acting town clerk Rukungiri municipality, Stephen Rubaihayo acting CAO Rwampara District, Francis Nyamugo the Ntungamo Municipality town clerk, Kharuna Kamba the acting town clerk Kisoro Municipality, Rubirizi District CAO Eliab Ntarwete Begumya, Theophilus Tibihika the Kasese municipality town clerk among others.
However according to procedure, the finance ministry gives any ineligible accounting officer a second chance to respond to the audit queries and when the Ministry of Finance are satisfied with their response it reinstates them.
Patrick Ocailap the deputy secretary to the treasury said if the accounting officers fail to respond to the queries appropriately, they are dropped as stipulated in section 11(2) (g) of the Public Finance management act.
