Uganda: Public Accounts Committee (Central Government) report on the health sector audit, adopted May 2021

The report and its adoption

The Order Paper carried a motion for adoption of the committee's report on the Auditor-General's report on the Health Sector for the year ended 30 June 2018 ¹. The chairperson laid reports covering the financial years 2016/17 to 2019/20 ¹.

The Speaker put the question that "the reports of the Committee on Public Accounts for 30 June 2018 and for 30 June 2019 be adopted." The Hansard records it as agreed to ¹. The Speaker then said the Order Paper had reflected two financial years and that "The resolution should be amended to reflect all those" ¹. The Hansard text checked does not show a vote on the amended wording ¹.

The next day, 7 May 2021, the House agreed to a motion moved by the same chairperson. It adopted the Auditor-General's observations and recommendations on reports up to 30 June 2020 that committees had not yet considered ².

Recommendations presented to the House

The Hansard shows the recommendations under sub-headings, numbered (i), (ii) and so on within each item ¹. The list below follows the subjects as read in the House. Quoted words are the committee's ¹.

• Budget releases: "The Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development takes full responsibility for the perpetual non release" of funds, late release and resulting domestic arrears (paraphrase after the quote) ¹.
• Arrears: the Ministry of Finance, not accounting officers, to be responsible for budgeting for arrears caused by non-release ¹.
• Advances: accounting officers to "recover all the advanced funds within 30 days and effect disciplinary action against the concerned staff" ¹.
• Prices: the Minister of Finance to "establish a committee, within 30 days of adopting this report, to review the costs/prices of goods and services" ¹.
• Land: "Parliament budgets for surveying and titling of all Government land" ¹.
• Uniforms: "A forensic audit to be carried out to establish the supply of uniforms" by National Medical Stores, a supply the report put at Shs 13.35 billion ¹.
• NMS debt: the Ministry of Finance to "carry out a Forensic Audit on the NMS debt before any payment is done", for a debt of Shs 340 billion ¹.
• Expired medicines: expired medicines and health supplies not to be destroyed without the approval of Parliament, citing section 35 of the PFMA (paraphrase) ¹.
• Hospital boards: to be appointed within 30 days before old boards expire (paraphrase) ¹.

The government response requested

The chairperson told the House: "The PS/ST provides a Treasury Memorandum within 30 days for Parliament to audit and examine all the items" ¹. The committee tied this to Article 163(6) of the Constitution, as recorded in the Hansard ¹.

During the debate Minister of State for Finance David Bahati said a question on the unit cost of drugs was one "the Ministry of Health will be able to respond to that maybe on Treasury Memorandum of this report" ¹. In answer to a question on why National Medical Stores did not use the IFMS, he said the government was "coming up with an amendment to the Public Finance Management Act" ¹.

Treasury Memoranda are laid in the House. On 15 January 2019, for example, Minister Bahati laid a Treasury Memorandum on the PAC report for 2014/2015 and the Deputy Speaker referred it to the committees to assess the responses ³.

Outcome status