Masindi municipal officials boycott PAC’s summons

Four of the six summoned Masindi Municipal Council officials by the Masindi district Public Accounts Committee (PAC) boycotted the call to answer financial queries raised by the Auditor General for the Financial Year that ended on December 30, 2025.

The officials summoned included the Acting Deputy Town Clerk, Patrick Asiimwe; Principal Finance Officer, Annet Nanzala; and Principal Internal Auditor, Joy Kabahinya.

Others include key departmental heads such as the Principal Education Officer, Municipal Engineer, Principal Health Officer, and Principal Community Development Officer.

However, during the committee meeting which was held in the Masindi district council chambers on Thursday, April 2, 2026, four key departmental heads: Principal Education Officer, Municipal Engineer, Principal Health Officer, and Principal Community Development Officer did not show up.

The meeting only sat with attendees including Deputy Town Clerk, Patrick Asiimwe, Principal Finance Officer Annet Nanzala, and Principal Internal Auditor, Joy Kabahinya who defended their work.

Meanwhile, a fully constituted PAC which was chaired by John Babiha and other members like Michael Anima, Christine Birungi, Livingstone, and Evas Bigirwa, questioned the municipal officials on various issues including mismanagement of public funds.

According to PAC chairperson John Babiha, the audit process is intended to strengthen accountability through checks and balances in the day-to-day operations of the council, ultimately improving service delivery and ensuring value for money.

Auditor General’s report which was fully presented before the committee during the meeting by Clerk to PAC, Fred Kisembo, indicated that in the financial year 2023/2024, the municipal council received shs100 million while in 2024/2025, an additional fund of shs400 million was received for pension and gratuity.

Audit report indicates that at the time of receiving funds, there were no beneficiaries. This prompted responses from the municipal officials regarding the actions taken.

Financial concerns included undervaluation of government properties particularly land, and the underutilisation of pension and gratuity funds.

The committee also cited existing gaps in understaffing across various departments within the administration systems.

In response to concerns about the undervaluation of government properties, Principal Finance Officer, Annet Nanzala stated that they have written to the Ministry of Finance requesting a government valuer as recommended by the Auditor General, though still waiting for a response.

“We have written to the Ministry requesting a government chief valuer, as recommended by the Auditor General, but we have not yet received any response,” she said.