Government agencies like KCCA and UNRA are spending more money on fuel, foreign travel, consultancies and salaries of their employees when compared to government ministries, a report by the Internal Security Organisation (ISO) has revealed.
The report also shows that these agencies spend more on workshop, employ fewer people and spend alot of money on advertisements compared to mainstream public service ministries.
The ISO report seen by this website is dated November 17 and is marked “secret.
We have been told that it was delivered to President Museveni on November 25.
Museveni had directed ISO in a July 17 letter to come up with a report on how much agencies are costing government.
Museveni had received complaints that in some agencies, managers were earning 10 times more than other senior managers at the same level in the mainstream public service.
The report is supposed to inform government’s decision in harmonising salaries across the public service.
It also comes amidst an outcry by civil servants about the disparities in pay in various government agencies.
Over the last couple of months, public servants ranging from prosecutors, judges to doctors and nurses have laid down their tools, protesting poor pay.
Lt.Col Joseph Aliganyira, the director Political Affairs in ISO said that many agencies and ministries inflate their budgets to create avenues for siphoning public funds.
“They create projects out of simple things so that they can tap into the money by concealing skills they ought to have used to do the work themselves. Many people who have been benefitting from this syndicate will not be happy with it. Others will fight it but it is the bitter truth,” Aliganyira said.
He said strikes and demonstrations will continue everyday but the people who are earning well will never be bothered.
“Intelligence organs cannot allow this to happen,” he said.
He added: “The president wants the problem of salaries solved but the people from ministries tell him there is no money yet in the actual sense it is available but no one is telling him the truth. We now want to tell him the money is available if this is implemented.”
Salaries
According to the report, agencies generally spend a lot of money on salaries of the employees when compared with the main stream public services.
For instance, for financial year 2016.17, Makerere University spent Shs 128 billion on salaries, Uganda Revenue Authority (URA spent Shs 112 billion while KCCA spent Shs 98 billion.
At Shs 7 billion, The National Planning Authority spent the lowest sum on salaries amongst government agencies.
However, in mainstream public service which is dominated by ministries, the highest spender on salaries was ministry of defence which used 410 billion on salaries. Parliament spent Shs 86 billion on salaries while the office of the prime minister spent 48 billion.
Comparatively therefore agencies spent more on salaries than government ministries.
In total, the report notes that Uganda’s entire wage bill for 2016.17 financial year was 3.36 trillion. Of this, Shs 1.7 trillion was paid to workers in the central government (including agencies) while Shs 1.6 trillion was paid to local government workers.
Consultancies
When it comes to consultancy services, agencies outspend government ministries.
For instance, the Uganda Cancer Institute spent Shs 9.8 billion on consultancies, NITA Shs 7.8 billion and KCCA, Shs 6.8 billion.
Government parastatals like Uganda Communications Commission spent shs 6 billion on consultancies.
Below are tables showing items on which agencies and government ministries spend money.
Top 10 spenders on travel in the mainstream public service (in billion shillings)
State House – 56.1
Parliament – 21.4
Ministry of Health – 19.6
Ministry of Education -15.9
Ministry of Defence -15.7
Ministry of Water and Environment – 12.9
Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development – 11.1
Ministry of Agriculture, Animal and Fisheries -11.1
Office of the Prime Minister – 10.5
Judiciary.
Top 10 spenders on travel in agencies(in billion shillings)
Uganda National Examinations Board – 13.6
National Agricultural Research Organization -11.8
Uganda Bureau of Statistics – 9.7Uganda Revenue Authority- 5.5
Rural Electrification Agency- 4.4
Inspector General of Government- 4.2
National Citizenship and Immigration Control – 4.0
National Agricultural Advisory Services -3.4
Directorate of Public Prosecutions- 3.2
National Environmental Management Authority – 3.1
Uganda Coffee Development Agency- 2.2
Top 10 agencies spending on workshops (in billion shillings)
National Agricultural Research Organization -5.4
Uganda Bureau of Statistics -5.3
National Agricultural Advisory Services – 3.0
Uganda National Examinations Board- 2.2
National Environmental Management Organization -1.9
National Planning Authority- 1.7
National Information Technology Authority – 1.7
Kampala Capital City Authority – 1.7
Electoral Commission – 1.3
Uganda Revenue Authority- 1.2
Top 10 spending ministries on workshops (in billions)
Ministry of Health -9.0
Ministry of Agriculture,Animal and Fisheries – 7.3
Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development -6.1
Ministry of Water and Environment -5.6
Ministry of Education -5.5
Ministry of Local Government -5.1
Office of the Prime Minister – 5.1
Ministry of Public Service -3.4
Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development – 2.7
Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development -2.3
Top 10 spending ministries on fuel ( in billions)
Ministry of Defence – 33.3
Ministry of Health – 6.4
Ministry of Water and Environment -5.0
Ministry of Agriculture,Animal and Fisheries –3.9
Ministry of Finance,Planning and Economic Development -3.5
Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development -3.2
Office of the Prime Minister – 2.6
Ministry of Works and Transport- 2.4
Judiciary – 2.2
Ministry of Gender -1.7
Top 10 spending agencies on fuel (in billions)
National Agricultural Research Organization -4.1
Kampala Capital City Authority -4.1
Electoral Commission -4.1
Uganda Revenue Authority- 2.7
National Citizenship and Immigration Control -1.9
Uganda Blood Transfusion Service -1.1
Directorate of Public Prosecutions- 0.9
Uganda Bureau of Statistics – 0.9
National Forestry Authority -0.9
National Planning Authority 0.9
