The Parliament of Uganda has summoned Finance Minister Matia Kasaija to clarify Uganda Revenue Authority’s (URA) disbursement of UGX 11.6 billion in bonuses to its staff without prior Parliamentary approval.
The call for explanation follows concerns raised by Hon. Muwanga Kivumbi, Chair of the House Public Accounts Committee, in a session chaired by Speaker Anita Among.
Kivumbi informed the House that URA awarded bonuses for achieving revenue targets in the 2021-2022 financial year. However, he emphasised that parliamentary approval, required for such payments, was not obtained.
According to the URA’s policy, bonuses can only be paid if revenue collections exceed the government’s annual target, but Parliament must first authorise these funds.
Kivumbi disclosed that while the Minister of Finance allowed the URA to retain UGX 14.6 billion, approval from Parliament was conditional and was never finalised. This procedural lapse, he argued, makes the bonus payment irregular.
In response, the URA’s accounting officer admitted that the payment schedule wasn’t included in their supplementary funding request to Parliament.
Former Auditor General John Muwanga’s audit report for the year ending June 2023 also flagged the payment. He confirmed that URA paid out UGX 11.63 billion in bonuses but failed to get the required supplementary funding approval, as per Section 25 of the Public Finance and Management Act 2015.
Muwanga recommended that the finance ministry submit funding requests early to allow Parliament time to review.
Speaker Anita Among has delayed further debate on the report, giving the finance minister two weeks to respond to the committee’s concerns.
