The Public Accounts Committee has cautioned Principal Secretaries against mismanaging public funds, stressing the need for greater accountability in the use of money allocated to government departments.
During a session on Wednesday, August 19, Committee Chairperson, Butere MP Tindi Mwale, said accounting officers must ensure taxpayers receive value for the resources entrusted to their respective departments.
"Being accounting officers, PSs must take personal responsibility for the resources entrusted to their departments.
"Where loss of public funds occurs due to negligence or failure to follow the law, the responsible accounting officers will be held personally accountable," he said.
Mwale spoke as the committee reviewed Auditor-General reports covering the 2023/2024 and 2024/2025 financial years relating to the State Departments of Investment Promotion and Trade.
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Principal Secretary for Investment Promotion Hassan Abubakar and his Trade counterpart Regina Ombam appeared before the committee separately to respond to concerns raised in the audit reports.
The committee members sought clarification from the two officials on several audit queries, particularly issues concerning the management and utilisation of funds within their respective departments.
Mwale said the committee would maintain scrutiny of government spending to ensure public resources were directed towards their intended purposes and properly accounted for.
"The public deserves to know that their money is being put to good use. We will continue demanding answers and ensuring that those entrusted with public resources account for every shilling," he said.
This comes months after Co-operatives and MSMEs Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya claimed that his ministry has been sidelined within government operations, alleging that he frequently struggles to access facilitation for official duties.
Speaking on Thursday, May 21, the CS said he has on several occasions been forced to seek help from others whenever he travels for government assignments because of a lack of funding.
Oparanya questioned whether his office was being treated with the same recognition as other Cabinet ministries within the government structure.
"I do not know whether my office is recognised as one of the offices of a Cabinet Secretary in this government or not. Whenever I go out, I get stranded because there is no facilitation, and I have to call some of them for help," he said.
Oparanya further alleged that accounting officers within ministries have taken control of financial approvals, leaving Cabinet Secretaries struggling to access resources for their official responsibilities.
"Since Principal Secretaries are accounting officers, they are always signing for themselves. I do not want to continue being a beggar before my juniors," he further said.
