MPs want Kibaale CAO interdicted over Shs 311m lost to UPDF 

MPs sitting on the public accounts committee-local government have called for the interdiction of the current Kibaale chief administrative officer (CAO) John Katotoroma for causing taxpayers a financial loss worth of Shs 311m.

The committee chaired by Bardege-Layibi MP Martin Ojara-Mapenduzi argues that the decision by Katotoroma, then CAO for Kabarole district to pay all the Shs 311m to the Uganda Peoples Defense Forces (UPDF) engineering brigade before the commencement of works was irregular and suspicious.

The Auditor General John Muwanga in his 2022 report indicates that Katotoroma advanced all the money in one go for the construction of an operating theatre at Ruteete health III. The AG says this was a clear manifestation of the flouting the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets (PPDA) regulations.

According to the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act, the maximum amount of advance payment that a bidder may receive in a given procurement is 30 per cent of the contract price. 

“The construction of the operating theatre at Ruteete health Center III was awarded to Uganda Peoples Defense Forces (UPDF) engineering brigade at Shs 311m, where a full amount of Shs 311m was paid to the engineering brigade instead of an advance payment of Shs 93m for construction works,” the AG report states.

Mapenduzi told The Observer that the committee is now recommending to the ministry of Finance to reprimand Katotoroma and relieve him of his current position. Napak Woman MP Faith Nakut said despite being advanced all the money, the project wasn’t even completed by October 2022 as scheduled.

When asked to explain why all the money was paid before construction works started, Kabarole chief financial officer Robert Nkojo said the  Finance ministry released Shs 311m just two months to the closure of the financial year.

“If we had remitted 30 per cent, the money would have been taken back to the consolidated fund and works would have stalled,” Nkojo said.  

Katotoroma in a telephone interview denied causing financial loss to the government.

“Money was released in May 2022 and the financial year was ending in June 2022. I saved the money from being swept back to the consolidated bank account,” Katotoroma said, adding: “UPDF Engineering Brigade is government to government agency with good working records and reputable image. It cannot run off the construction sites like private construction companies.”

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