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163. (1) There shall be an Auditor-General who shall be appointed by the President with the approval of Parliament and whose office shall be a public office.
(2) A person shall not be appointed Auditor-General unless that person-
a) is a qualified accountant of not less than fifteen years’ standing; and
b) is a person of high moral character and proven integrity.
(3) The Auditor-General shall-
a) audit and report on the public accounts of Uganda and of all public offices including the courts, the central and local government administrations, universities and public institutions of like nature, and any public corporation or other bodies or organizations established by an Act of Parliament; and
b) conduct financial and value for money audits in respect of any project involving public funds.
(4) The Auditor-General shall submit to Parliament annually a report of the accounts audited by him or her under clause (3) of this article for the financial year immediately preceding.
(5) Parliament shall, within six months after the submission of the report referred to in clause (4) of this article, debate and consider the report and take appropriate action.
(6) Subject to clause (7) of this article, in performing his or her functions, the Auditor-General shall not be under the direction or control of any person or authority.
(7) The President may, acting in accordance with the advice of the Cabinet, require the Auditor-General to audit the accounts of any body or organization referred to in clause (3) of this article.
(8) The salary and allowances payable to the Auditor-General shall be charged on the Consolidated Fund.
(9) The accounts of the office of the Auditor-General shall be audited and reported upon by an auditor appointed by parliament.
(10) The Auditor-General may be removed from office by the President only for-
a) inability to perform the functions of his or her office arising from infirmity of body or mind;
b) misbehaviour or misconduct; or
c) incompetence.
164.(1) the Permanent Secretary or the accounting officer in charge of a Ministry or department shall be accountable to Parliament for the funds in that Ministry or department.
(2) Any person holding a political or public office who directs or concurs in the use of public funds contrary to existing instructions shall be accountable for any loss arising from that use and shall be required to make good the loss even if he or she has ceased to hold that office.
(3) Parliament shall monitor all expenditure of public funds.
24.(1) The Controller and Auditor General shall, on behalf of the National Assembly, examine, inquire into the and audit the accounted of all Accounting Officers and receivers of revenue and of all persons entrusted with the collection, receipt, custody, issue or payment of public moneys, or with the receipt, custody, issue, sale, transfer or delivery of any stamps, securities, stores or other Government property.
"(2) In exercising his powers of audit and examination accounts, the Controller and Auditor General shall satisfy himself:-
a) that all reasonable precautions have been taken to safeguard the collection of revenue, and that the laws, directions and instructions relating thereto have been duly observed;
b) that all public moneys have been dealt with in accordance with proper authority; and
c) that all reasonable precautions have been taken to safeguard the receipt, custody, issue and proper use of Government property, including stamps, securities and stores, and that the regulations, instructions and directions relating thereto have been duly observed".
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) and (2) of this section, the Controller and Auditor General shall not be required to examine, inquire into or audit the accounts of any trust or other fund or account not provided for in section 27 of this Act, unless the officer administering such trust, fund or account has been directed by the Treasury, as provided in subsection (2) of that section, to prepare, sign and transmit to the Controller and Auditor General an account thereof.
25.(1) In the exercise of his duties under this Act the Controller and Auditor General may:-
a) call upon any public officer for any explanation or information which he may require in order to enable him to discharge his duties;
b) authorize any person publicly carrying on the profession of Accountant or any public officer to conduct any inquiry, examination, or audit on his behalf and to furnish him with a report thereon; and
c) without payment of any fee, cause search to be made in and extracts to be taken from any book, document or record in any public office.
(2) The Controller and Auditor General may lay before the Attorney General a case in writing as to any question regarding the interpretation of any provision of the Constitution or of any written law concerning the powers of the Controller and Auditor General or the discharge of his duties; and the Attorney General shall give to the Controller and Auditor General a written opinion upon any such case.
(3) In the exercise of his duties the Controller and Auditor General or any person duly authorized by him shall have access to all public records, books, vouchers, documents, cash, stamps, securities, stores or other Government property in the possession of any public officer.
26., Anything which by this Act is directed to be done by the Controller and Auditor General (other than the certifying and reporting of accounts for the National Assembly) may be done by any office of his staff or by any person of the kind mentioned in paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 25 of this Act who is authorized by him in that behalf.
27.(1) Within a period of four months after the end of each financial year (or such longer period as the National Assembly may by resolution appoint in respect of any financial year) there shall be prepared and transmitted to the Controller and Auditor General:-
a) by the Treasury-
i) a statement of receipts into and issues from the Consolidated Fund Account during the year;
ii) a balance sheet of the Consolidated Fund;
iii) a balance sheet showing the amounts held by the Treasury on behalf of Accounting officers, receivers or revenue and officers administrative funds, and the assets held in respect of such amounts.
iv) The summary of appropriation accounts, being a summary of all the appropriation accounts transmitted by the Accounting officers under paragraph (b) of this subsection
v) The summary of statutory expenditure accounts, being a a summary of all the statutory expenditure accounts transmitted by Accounting officers under paragraph (b) of this subsection;
vi) The summary of statements of revenue, being a summary of all the statements of receipts transmitted by receivers of revenue under paragraph, © of this subsection;
vii) A statement of the amount outstanding at the end of the year in respect of the public debt;
viii) A statement of the amounts guaranteed by the Government as at the end of the year in respect of bank overdrafts, loans, public loan issues and other sums;
ix) A statement of the total amounts outstanding at the end of the year of loans made by government; and
x) Such other statements in the National Assembly may from time to time require:
(1) Provided that, in respect of the balance sheet, summaries and statements referred to in subparagraph (ii), (vi), (v), (vii) and (viii) of this paragraph the period of four months referred to at the beginning of this subsection shall be extended to six months and, in respect of a statement required under sub-paragraph (ix) of this paragraph, the period within which the statement shall be prepared and transmitted shall be such period as the National Assembly may appoint;
b) by each Accounting officer, in respect of the financial year and in respect of the votes and moneys for which he is responsible:-
i) an appropriate account showing the services for which the moneys expended were voted, the sums actually expended on such service, and he state of each vote compared with the appropriation (as varied by any supplementary estimate approved by the National Assembly before the end of the financial year), which shall contain such additional information and be in such form as the Treasury may direct and shall be signed by the accounting Officer;
ii) a statutory expenditure account showing the services to which moneys expended were provided and the sums actually expended on each service, which shall contain such additional information and be in such form as the Treasury may direct and shall be signed by the Accounting officer;
iii) a statement of the amounts outstanding at the end of the year in respect of loans made by the government; and
iv) such other statements as the National assembly may from time to time require;
Provided that a statement required under this sub-paragraph shall be prepared and transmitted within such period as the National Assembly may appoint;
c) by each receiver of revenue, a statement of receipts and disbursements during the financial year including such information and being in such form as the Treasury may direct.
(2) Save as may be otherwise provided in any written law-
i) any officer administering a Fund established or deemed to have been established under section 17 of this Act; and
ii) any officer administering any trust or other fund or account not providing for in this section, if so directed by the Treasury,
shall (in respect of a period of account and on or before a date to be prescribed in each case by the Treasury) prepare, sign and transmit to the Controller and Auditor General on account of such fund, trust or other fund or account including such information and in such form as the Treasury may from time to time direct.
28.(1) On receipt of the accounts prescribed by section 27 of this Act the Auditor General shall-
a) cause them to be examined and audited;
b) within a period of nine months after the end of the financial year to which the accounts relate (or such longer period as the national Assembly may by resolution appoint in respect of any financial year) certify in respect of each account the result of the examination and audit: and
c) within that period prepare and transmit to the Minister a report upon the examination of all such accounts, together with copies of the accounts certified in the manner provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection.
(2) The Minister shall, not later than fourteen days after the first sitting of the National Assembly next after the receipt of the report mentioned in subsection (1) of this section, cause the same to be laid before the National Assembly; and if the Minister makes default in so laying the report, the Auditor General shall submit the same to the Speaker.
29.(1) The Controller and Auditor General where he is required by any written law to examine and audit the accounts of a body corporate established by that or any other written law, may for the purpose of auditing those accounts exercise in relation to that body corporate and to its officers, servants and agents the same powers as he is authorized by the other provisions of this Act to exercise in relating to the Government and public officers for the purpose of auditing Government accounts.
(2) Where no other provision exists for fixing the fees to be taken by the Controller and Auditor General for auditing the accounts of a body corporate in the circumstances mentioned in subsection (1) of this section, the Treasury may fix fees to be so taken which:-
a) shall be a charge on the funds of such body corporate; and
b) shall form part of the public revenues of Uganda and shall be disposed of accordingly.
87. Every Local Government Council and Administrative Unit shall keep proper books of accounts and other records in relation thereto and shall balance its accounts for that year and produce statements of final accounts within four months from the end of each financial year.
88.(1) The accounts of every Local Government Council and Administrative Unit shall be audited by the Auditor-General or an auditor appointed by him or her.
(2) The Auditor-General may carry out surprise audit, investigations or any other audit considered necessary.
(3) The Auditor-General shall give the report of the audited accounts to-
a) the Parliament;
b) the Minister responsible for finance;
c) the Minister;
d) the Local Government or administrative unit to which the audit relates;
e) the Local Government Public Accounts Committee;
f) the Local Government Finance Commission;
g) the Inspector General of Government; and
h) the Resident District commission.
i) Vice President.
89.(1) There is established in each District, a Local Government Public Accounts Committee consisting of-
a) four members appointed by the District Council on the recommendation of the District Executive Committee;
b) one member appointed-
(i) in the case of a District with more than one Urban authority, by an electoral college of Urban Council Executive Committee members in that District; and
(ii) in the case of a District with only one Urban authority, by the Urban Council on the recommendation of the Urban Executive Committee.
(2) A member of the Local Government Public Accounts Committee appointed under paragraph (a) and (b) of subsection (1) shall not be a member of a Local Government Council or administration.
(3) The members of the Local Governments Public Accounts Committee shall elect a Chairperson from among its members.
(4) Every meeting of the Local Governments Public Accounts Committee shall be presided over the Chairperson and in his or her absence by a member elected by the members present.
(5) Three members of the Local Government Public Accounts Committee shall form a quorum at any meeting of the Committee.
(6) The office of the Clerk to the District Council shall be the Secretariat to the Local Government Public Accounts Committee.
(7) A Local Government Public Accounts Committee shall examine the reports of the Auditor General, Chief Internal Auditor and any reports of commissions of inquiry and may, in relation thereto, require the attendance of any Councillor or Officer to explain matters arising from the reports.
(8) The Local Government Public Accounts Committee shall submit its report to the Council and to the Minister responsible for Local Governments who shall lay the report before Parliament.
(9) The Chairperson of the Council and the Chief Administrative Officer or Town Clerk shall implement the recommendations of the Local Government Public Accounts Committee.
