PAC- Central Committee meeting with the officials from Ministry of finance.

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Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC-Central) has questioned the Ministry of Finance over Shs20.25 billion spent on fuel, oil and motor vehicle-related costs during the 2024/25 financial year. The concern was raised on Monday by Mbale Industrial Division MP Karim Masaba as the committee scrutinised the Auditor General’s report for the financial year.

Masaba said the ministry’s trial balance showed Shs5.05 billion spent on motor vehicle maintenance, Shs13.9 billion on fuel and oil, and another Shs1.3 billion on fuel and motor vehicle-related expenditure. The ministry told the committee that it operates 186 motor vehicles and 12 motorcycles.

Based on the 186 vehicles, the combined expenditure of Shs20.25 billion translates into an average of about Shs108.9 million per vehicle annually, or approximately Shs298,300 per vehicle per day. Masaba questioned whether the expenditure represented value for money.
The committee, chaired by Patrick Oshabe Nsamba, directed ministry officials to provide supporting documents showing how the money was spent and to explain the basis of the figures.

The Ministry’s Under Secretary, Edward Sengonzi Damulira, said officials had taken note of the committee’s concerns and would apply the lessons in the next accounting period. The vehicle expenditure was scrutinised as MPs examined the ministry’s wider spending under goods and services during the year.

Oshabe questioned the level of expenditure given the ministry’s core mandate of economic policy, financial management and Treasury operations. Hilda Nyamaizi, the ministry’s head of accounts, said the expenditure covered a range of activities, including property management, utilities, stationery and other services across the ministry’s departments and units.

Figures presented to the committee show that the ministry spent Shs160 billion under goods and services. This included Shs3.028 billion on communications, Shs8.246 billion on utilities and property expenses and Shs11.548 billion on supplies and services.

The ministry also reported spending Shs91.841 billion on professional services, Shs59.118 billion on travel and transport, and Shs6.878 billion on vehicle maintenance. Oshabe directed ministry officials to provide detailed supporting schedules for the expenditure, particularly on professional services, travel and transport, and motor vehicle-related costs.

The committee also noted an apparent discrepancy between the Shs5.05 billion motor vehicle maintenance figure cited from the trial balance and the Shs6.878 billion subsequently reported under vehicle maintenance. The officials were directed to explain the difference and provide a detailed breakdown to enable the committee to establish the actual cost of running and maintaining the ministry’s fleet and determine whether the expenditure represents value for money.

Written by newsroom-radiopacis