Previous AG accountability reports need scrutiny. The Chairpersons of Parliament’s Accountability Committees are seeking to rescind an earlier decision of Parliament to approve pending reports by the Auditor General without the scrutiny of the House.
On 30th June 2020, the Tenth Parliament in a sitting chaired by former Speaker Rebecca Kadaga passed a motion to the effect that the reports of the Auditor-General that had not been considered by the accountability committees be adopted in terms of their recommendations without scrutiny.
However, Medard Lubega Sseggona, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) – Central Government Chairperson says that this decision has affected the operations of the accountability committees yet it is their duty under the Constitution to examine and scrutinize reports of the Auditor General on an annual basis.
According to Sseggona, they have today filed a notice of motion to the Speaker and Clerk to Parliament seeking to rescind the decision by the Tenth Parliament to allow their committees to reopen the reports of the Auditor-General for the years affected.
He added that in their motion, the accountability committees specifically want the 2019/2020 financial year audit report recalled for scrutiny as they wait for the new audit report by the Auditor General that will be released in December.
The legislators are determined and say that they will work so hard to be able to overcome the culture of backlog in parliament and also emphasizes that scrutiny is central to the fight against corruption in the country.
Ssenyonyi the Chairperson of the committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) said that seeking to remedy the backlog by the previous parliament posed a bigger challenge and made accountability committees idle.
Rule 56 provides that no motion shall be moved unless the member moving it has given written notice of the motion to the Speaker and the Clerk not less than three days previous to the sitting at which it is intended to move the Motion.
On the other hand, rule 222 (2) provides that the House may reconsider its decision upon a substantive motion for the reconsideration, moved under a notice of not less than 14 days.
View reports from the Auditor General of Uganda http://www.oag.go.ug/4961-2/
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