The Ministry of Public Service has been faulted by the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) for retaining unqualified individuals on the government payroll, leading to massive financial losses.
This concern emerged during a PAC session that followed a special audit report on the government payroll conducted by the Auditor General’s Office.
The report revealed that 28,253 public servants lacked the required validating documents or were only partially verified, yet continued to receive salaries amounting to approximately Shs 125 billion every month.
It also uncovered that 7,341 individuals were recruited without formal clearance from the Ministry of Public Service.
The audit further indicated widespread discrepancies in the validation process.
Of the 5,532 public servants scrutinized, only a portion was successfully validated.
A significant number were found to be deceased, retired, or had absconded from duty.
Others failed to appear for the validation exercises altogether, while a disturbing 178 were identified as ghost employees.
In response to these findings, PAC Chairperson Muwanga Kivumbi has summoned the Minister of Finance along with officials from the Ministry of Public Service.
The summons is intended to facilitate a reconciliation process aimed at streamlining the government payroll and preventing further wasteful expenditure of public funds.
By Francis Lubega
18th June 2025
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