Water Ministry Faces Scrutiny Over Unauthorized Spending of Shs 25.3 Billion

Officials from the Water Ministry appearing before the committee chaired by Hon. Muwanga Kivumbi (L) 

Officials from Uganda's Ministry of Water and Environment are under investigation by the Public Accounts Committee (Central Government) for spending an additional Shs 25.3 billion on the Strategic Towns Water Supply and Sanitation Project without parliamentary approval. During a session on March 11, 2024, chaired by Hon. Muwanga Kivumbi, Ministry officials, led by Permanent Secretary Alfred Okot, failed to explain why they did not seek the necessary supplementary budget approval for the extra expenditure.

An audit for the year ending December 2024 revealed that the Shs 25.3 billion was spent without authorization and was carried over from the previous financial year. Despite the approved external financing budget being Shs 22.7 billion, a total of Shs 48.01 billion was remitted, leaving Shs 58.1 billion in total funds available for expenditure.

The over-receipt of funds was attributed to direct payments by donors to consultants and contractors, as explained by the ministry’s Accounting Officer. Felix Twinomucunguzi, the Project Manager for the Strategic Towns Water Supply and Sanitation Project, attributed the over-expenditure to delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected both physical progress and financial performance. He claimed that expedited activities in subsequent financial years led to overspending on previously allocated budgets.

However, Hon. Kivumbi rejected this justification, stating that the law is clear: any additional expenditure beyond the approved budget must go through a supplementary request to Parliament. “This is illegal and unconstitutional,” he emphasized.

Hon. Jessica Ababiku (NRM, Adjumani District) also questioned the ministry's failure to disclose how external factors, like the pandemic and the Ukraine-Russia war, had impacted the project costs. Twinomucunguzi admitted to discrepancies in the expenditure breakdown, acknowledging that the extra funds had been used for pre-contract activities, including compensation and logistical adjustments. However, the committee members dismissed this explanation, stressing that all spending outside the approved budget must be authorized by Parliament in advance.

Under Secretary Emmanuel Mugunga attempted to downplay the situation, suggesting that the funds were not new, but rather unspent resources from the previous year. "This is not an additional resource; it’s simply money that was not spent prior but is now available," he argued. However, Kivumbi dismissed this argument, asserting that any unspent funds must be processed through a supplementary budget. “Unspent funds do not automatically roll over. You either include them in the next budget cycle or process a supplementary,” he explained.

The committee has directed the ministry to provide a detailed breakdown of the expenditure and explain why a supplementary budget request was not made. Failure to comply could result in further accountability measures against the officials responsible for the financial oversight.

Regarding stalled projects, Twinomucunguzi cited the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war as significant disruptions, particularly in the procurement of materials like steel pipes, which were primarily sourced from China and India. The committee has tasked him with explaining why certain projects have yet to make significant progress.