MPs grill Defense Ministry officials over Shs31.9bn arrears

By Francis Lubega

24^th February 2021

The Public Accounts Committee of parliament has today grilled the accounting officer ministry of defense and other ministry officials over failure to budget for arrears amounting to 31.9 billion shillings.

The auditor general’s report of the financial year 2018-2019, Mps indicated that the ministry’s budget for that financial year budgeted 36.6 billion shillings to pay domestic arrears but they went ahead to pay arrears amounting to 68.4 billion shillings which means 31.9 billion shillings which was spent on clearing domestic arrears was not budgeted for.

The committee members led by the committee chair Nathan James Nandala Mafabi tasked the accounting officer of the ministry Edith Buturo to explain why they diverted the money which was meant to do other ministry works and paid domestic arrears.

Mps also wanted the accounting officer to explain to them who gave her the authority to divert the money which is contrary to the law.

Mps also found out that the ministry was given all its money of 2.3 trillion they asked for in their budget for that financial year which they fully spent but remained questioned for diverting money without authority from parliament which contradicts the law.