Members of Parliament on the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) have called upon State House to stop doing so many different projects.
They say State House should focus more on its main job, which is helping the President, and not get involved in things like training young people or helping with farming, which other parts of the government already do.
The call to action emerged during a parliamentary inquiry where State House officials led by the State House ComptrollerJane Barekye, were summoned to address queries stemming from the December 2023 Auditor General’s report.
Within the report, MPs raised pointed questions regarding State House’s involvement in a diverse array of initiatives, including youth skilling programs, agriculture mechanization endeavors, and training schemes like muchaka muchaka.
Their concerns centered on the apparent duplication of efforts, as similar projects were already underway through dedicated government agencies.
Muwanga Kivumbi, the Chairperson of PAC representing Butambala County, expressed frustration over what he perceived as inefficient resource allocation, remarking,
“You buy equipment that should have gone to a technical school, you put it in these hubs. This is how Government keeps doing the same things and you speak about rationalization.”
Adding to the chorus of concern, Barnabas Tinkasimire, who represents Buyaga West, questioned the rationale behind State House’s expansive portfolio, contending that the institution’s primary function should revolve around the welfare of the chief executive and his immediate family.
He stressed that activities such as agriculture, education, and healthcare fall squarely within the purview of other ministries and agencies, suggesting that State House’s involvement in such areas leads to mission creep and inefficiency.
“Why are you engaging State House in doing these small things without asking the Ministry of Agriculture that is supposed to do the function of agriculture? Because if you start being everywhere, you are going to be nowhere. Your major function is to provide for the welfare of the chief executive and his immediate family, not to engage in agriculture, education, not engage in testing HIV/AIDs, COVID-19, no. that isn’t your mandate,”Tinkasimire said
In response to the mounting scrutiny, Jane Barekye, the State House Comptroller, mounted a defense of the institution’s activities, asserting that their role fundamentally revolves around facilitating the President in executing his duties as mandated by the constitution.
She sought to clarify that initiatives such as youth training programs are carried out in partnership with districts and regions, with the aim of serving Ugandans through the President’s overarching mandate.
“My mandate is to facilitate the President to perform his duties according to the constitution. All that I am doing is facilitate him and I am not training the youths under the house of the President, they are in districts and everywhere in the regions, so, he is serving Ugandans through his vote and it is his decision,”
MPs stressed the critical importance of rationalizing State House activities to ensure optimal resource utilization and to prevent redundancy with parallel efforts undertaken by other government entities.
MPs also grilled State House Officials on revenue shortfall despit substantial budget allocation.
MPs al interrogated State House officials regarding their failure to meet revenue targets for the fiscal year 2022/23, despite being allocated a substantial budget of Shs835 billion. The queries arose as it was revealed that State House fell short of collecting revenue amounting to Shs120 million.
In response to the line of questioning, Jane Barekye, the State House Comptroller, defended the institution’s inability to generate revenue, citing various factors that contributed to the shortfall. Barekye explained that State House had initially projected to collect Non-Tax Revenue (NTR) through activities such as the sale of bid documents, proceeds from agricultural produce sales, and disposal of assets. However, by the end of the financial year, none of these revenue-generating activities had been executed, resulting in zero NTR collections.
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