By Shivan Ayebare
Henry Musasizi has urged local government internal auditors to check whether public funds are delivering the services they were meant to pay for. He cited ghost learners, payroll fraud, inflated contracts and missing government assets as irregularities auditors should help detect.
Musasizi was speaking at the annual general meeting of the Local Government Internal Auditors Association at White Horse Inn in Kabale district. He urged auditors to uphold professional and ethical standards and check whether government programmes are achieving their intended results.
“Every shilling lost through fraud, waste, inefficiency or poor controls slows our progress towards prosperity. Every project that is poorly implemented delays transformation, while every weakness that goes unchecked undermines public trust,” Musasizi said.
He also asked auditors to use complaints raised at the ongoing anti-corruption and accountability barazas to identify risks and decide what to prioritise in their audit plans.
Acting internal auditor general Hussein Isingoma urged auditors to visit project sites and check the work against financial records. He said site inspections would help auditors establish whether projects meet the required standards and deliver value for money.
The association’s chairperson, Justus Musimenta, called for stronger audit units and more staff. He said some districts have only one or two internal auditors to monitor several government programmes.
The meeting was held under the theme “Strengthening Local Government Internal Audit for Accountability, Value for Money and Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation.”
