PAC summons former District CAO for paying Shs365m to unserious contractor

By Francis Lubega

7^th July 2022

The former Chief Administrative Officer of Kaabong district Joel Musisi has been summoned by the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee on Local Government to appear next Tuesday over Shs365million.

The summons are as a result of the auditor general’s report of the financial year 2020/21 in which Musisi as the accounting officer is implicated for paying over Shs365m to Jacksin company to construct the Kaabong district Council Chambers which hasn’t been done for about 15 months.

Jacksin Company was allegedly contracted in April 2021 to construct the Kaabong council chambers in a period of two months with expectation of completing the construction project by June 28,2021 but up to this month of July 2022 no work has ever been sighted at the site yet even the contractual extensions were given to the contractor.

Now, Musisi is being faulted for not following the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets -PPDA contract agreement where it’s illegal to release 100% payment to any contractor before the completion of the work.

Speaking to the PAC Chairperson Martine Ojara Mapenduzi, says that more investigations are to be conducted and even the owners of the company will be interrogated to find out whether there was connivance to defraud government and if so, both the contractor and Musisi will have to pay back the money.