Drama rocked parliament yesterday when officials led by Prof. Wasswa Balunywa from Makerere University Business School (MUBS) failed to explain missing money in their financial records for the financial year 2017/2018, as indicated in last year’s report by Auditor General John Muwanga.
The officials were grilled and later kicked out by MPs on the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) yesterday after failing to account for the missing UGX 900 Million.
In their defence, the MUBS officials revealed that they used some of the money to sponsor 7 of the university’s staff members to upgrade their qualifications to PhD, who later disappeared in thin air after finishing their studies.
They added that some of the lecturers who are still in the country have deliberately failed to pay back the money, contrary to what was stipulated in the agreement.
The Auditor General’s report indicates that one of the lecturers, Pamela Tusingwiire went for her PhD studies in the United States in 2017 and hasn’t returned up to date. Moses Bukenya who went to pursue a PhD under MUBS sponsorship has never returned since 2014.
The MUBS officials were also tasked to explain how much was budgeted for different projects undertaken by the university in the said financial year. The Auditor General’s report further tasks MUBS officials to explain how the university awarded an internet provision contract to Research and Education Network company in a foreign currency (US Dollars)
Before kicking the officials out, Nandala Mafabi, the PAC chairman ordered them to return with documents showing clearly how university projects are run with detailed books of accounts.
