
PARLIAMENT .
Soroti University , one of the public universities is in spot light over failure to clear on outstanding debt of Shs2.2m .
The money , according to Auditor General’s report for the financial year ended June 30,2024 ,was part of the Shs46million the university had to pay Kebeho Limited ,a local company that supplied curtains to the institution two years ago .
The revelation came to the forward on Wednesday when lawmakers on the Public Accounts Committee (Central) were reviewing the AG report .
During the same period, Peak Consults Ltd constructed a house for the university’s security guard valued at 14.9 million, yet 2.6 million was still outstanding by year-end. According to the AG’s observations, as of 30th June 2024, Soroti University had outstanding payables of shillings 245.267 million, the majority of which related to the 2021/2022 and the previous year.
“How much profit does one get from these curtains that motivates a university to really retain their money of 2.2 million. You are holding someone’s profit,” Ms Gorreti Namugga , the deputy chairperson of the committee wondered.
However, in defence, university bursar Robert Magemeso said that when any work is done and the financial year ends with some retention money withheld, that retention, being part of the year’s allocated funds, is swept back to the Treasury.
He added that government policy requires any outstanding arrears to be calculated and submitted to the internal auditor at the finance ministry (MOFPED) for verification, after which the university must wait for the ministry to release the funds.
“Maybe we should first find out from the accounting officer whether this was a planned activity. Because if it was planned, it should have had a budget, and it should have been done on time.
Now, by the mere fact that this is arrears for 2021/22 FY, how do you expect these people having small businesses to thrive when you are really strangling them like this? Shillings four million, there is a lack of seriousness here,” Suzan Amero (Amuria District Woman MP) said.
Tororo South MP Fredrick Angura (NRM) questioned whether Soroti University’s refusal to pay was related to defects liability, asking if the suppliers had failed to meet minimum standards that justified withholding payment.
“Because when I look at page forty-eight, your statement of outstanding commitments. Prior commitments paid during the year were eight million, and, of course, you went on to incur another nine million during the year. But that small one, what could be the cause?” Angura stated.
“Where is that evidence that you communicated with the internal Auditor General in helping you get the clearance for the money to be given back in the next financial year for this purpose? We moved from 2021/22, and we are going to elections, and these people have not been paid,” Silas Aogon (Kumi municipality MP) inquired.
Responding, Magemeso said, “We have received an allocation of shillings 102 million for this financial year, we are talking about, and what we are supposed to be clearing are actually those two and the balance of gratuity… Last year (2024/25), we only received shillings 2.9 billion for domestic arrears as a budget for the whole year.”
Namugga concurred, saying, “Honourable Silas, you don’t have to forget that for the last three financial years, Government has been allocating shillings 200billion in the whole budget to cater for all departments and agencies of government.
What percentage is that in terms of national arrears? You have arrears of close to shillings 13.5 trillion to date. You have allocated shillings 1.4 trillion, which means it will be divided among all agencies and departments, including universities.”
Background :
Soroti University was officially established by Statutory Instrument No. 34 of July 2015 as a fully accredited institution under the Universities and Tertiary Institutions Act of 2005.
It admitted its pioneer students in the 2019/20 academic year, launching Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) and Bachelor of Nursing Sciences (BNS) programmes. In 2020, the university introduced more programmes including a Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics and Computer Engineering. Its maiden graduation ceremony is slated for this November .