Winston Agaba, Managing Director of Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC), admitted before Parliament’s Committee of Commissions, Statutory Authorities & State Enterprises (COSASE) that he was unaware of four ghost workers on UBC’s payroll.
These individuals received salaries without performing any work, a fraud discovered through a payroll audit by the Ministry of Public Service.
Agaba, appearing before COSASE, explained that he was only informed of the fraudulent payments during the head count harmonization by the Ministry of Public Service.
“At the time of harmonizing the head count by Public Service, it was also at the time that we were notified that some people were on the payroll of other agencies. And that has been rectified, we terminated those that were on our side and even the IGG has interested herself in the matter. So the IGG came and is handling that matter,” Agaba stated.
This admission came in response to a question from Eddie Kwizera (Bukimbiri County), who demanded details on the funds lost due to the ghost workers, as highlighted in the December 2023 report.
The ghost workers identified include Yosam Rugundana, a Deputy Head Teacher in Nakasongola; Ssempa Kanakulya, employed at State House; Patrick Baligonzaki, an employee at Busitema University; and Christine Birungi Birabwa. Currently, only Birungi is being investigated by the Inspectorate of Government (IGG), a point of concern raised by the MPs.
Kwizera said the broader issue of non-existent employees and irregular payments were affecting staff morale and potentially encouraging corruption.
“When you read, the Auditor General is talking about payment of non-existent employees, underpayment, and irregular payment, which can be a big motivation for staff and they end up being very corrupt. So can we get comments on why you have staffs that you are paying and are non-existent? Can you give us a list of those people who were getting salary from your side and getting from outside and you tell us, why the Human Resource isn’t on interdiction,” Kwizera questioned.
The Parliament committee continues to seek clarity and accountability from UBC officials regarding the management of the corporation’s payroll and the measures being taken to prevent future occurrences of such fraud.
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