Finance Warns Accounting Officers, Pay Salaries On Time

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Accounting Officers who fail to pay salaries by the 28th day of the month risk being disciplined, the Minister of State for Finance, Hon. David Bahati has warned.

MP David Bahati — Finance State Minister David Bahati

The Minister, who was presenting a Statement to Parliament on Wednesday, June 24, 2015, said that some Accounting Officers, despite having the required funds, without reason fail to pay salaries for civil servants by the 28th of each month.

“Funds should reach employees accounts by the 28th day of the month. However, some Accounting Officers have not adhered to that policy hence delaying the crediting of employees accounts,” said Hon. Bahati.

“My Ministry and the Ministry of Public Service are committed to cleaning the government payroll and disciplinary action will be taken against accounting officers with identified irregularities on their payrolls,” he said adding that “I will ask the Auditor General to carry out a special audit on votes that requested for more funding for the fourth quarter as well as those with multiple submissions of salary arrears requests.”

The Minister however said that in May 2015, most votes paid before or on the set date, while some paid in June for reasons including need for supplementary funding, delayed request for supplementary funding and shortage for their wage due to reconciliation issues.

These reasons affected the ministries of Internal Affairs and Education and Sports; Electoral Commission, Kampala Capital City Authority and Health Service Commission. It also affected the local governments of Iganga, Kapchorwa, Kumi, Masindi, Sironko and Zombo.

The Minister also said that as regards June 2015, 160 out of 206 votes on the government payroll had been paid as of June 24, 2015, while the remaining votes were expected to be paid before the end of the day, Wednesday, June 24, 2015.

“I wish to confirm that the policy shift to decentralization of payment of salaries has been a success save for a few anomalies that still exist, for example, ‘ghost’ payments, over and under payments as has been the case in Wakiso district, deductions and over deductions beyond the recovery period,” he said.