KAMPALA – The Auditor General, John Muwanga has disclosed that five public universities in Uganda are currently offering 222 expired courses.
Notable institutions such as Makerere University, Kyambogo University, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Makerere University Business School, and Gulu University were identified, with Makerere University leading with 120 expired courses.
Muwanga conveyed this information while presenting the audited accounts of the government for the previous Financial Year to the Speaker of the 11th Parliament of Uganda, Rt Hon Anitah Annet Among.
The report highlighted that out of 629 programs across these universities, only 332 were accredited, 138 were awaiting accreditation from the NCHE, and 222 lacked accreditation.
In addition, Muwanga informed that Uganda’s total public debt, as of June 30, 2023, amounted to Shs96.168 trillion, marking a 107% increase over the past five years.
He also revealed that 5,619,120 COVID-19 vaccines, valued at Shs28.159 billion and purchased through a World Bank loan, had expired in the National Medical Stores.
Furthermore, Muwanga recommended the recovery of Shs53 billion from 10,192 ‘ghost workers’ who had previously been on the government payroll but were later discovered to have died, retired, or abandoned their duties during a verification exercise in February 2023.
Speaker Anitah Annet Among commended the Auditor General for consistently fulfilling his mandate, emphasizing the significance of parliamentary scrutiny in line with Article 163 (4) of the Constitution.
She urged collective efforts from all stakeholders in the Public Finance and Accountability cycle for effective accountability.
Speaker Among also acknowledged the Auditor General’s effective Parliamentary liaison unit, providing essential support to the Public Accounts Committees.
