PAC-COSASE CHAIR ASKS SPEAKER TO LIFT DIRECTIVE SHIELDING STATE ENTITIES FROM AUDIT SCRUTINY

NILE POST

The PAC-COSASE chairperson has asked the Speaker of Parliament to revoke a directive issued during the 11th Parliament that he says prevented the committee from examining audit matters of some government entities.

The Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (PAC-COSASE), Nkunyingi Muwada, has petitioned the Speaker of Parliament to revoke an administrative directive he says has shielded some state entities from parliamentary audit scrutiny.

In a July 20, 2026 letter received by the offices of the Speaker, Deputy Speaker and Leader of the Opposition on July 24, Nkunyingi argued that the directive issued during the 11th Parliament was unconstitutional and had allowed some government enterprises to avoid accountability for years.

“The entities allegedly protected within the letter by the Speaker of the 11th Parliament have never appeared before any other committee over audit matters,” Nkunyingi wrote.

“This apparently continues to illegally insulate these entities from scrutiny over audit matters and if not corrected, the 12th Parliament would be in contempt of the law and its constitutional mandate,” he added.

Nkunyingi cited Article 90(2) and Article 163(4) of the Constitution, together with Rule 187 of Parliament’s Rules of Procedure, which provide for PAC-COSASE to examine reports and audited accounts of statutory authorities, commissions and state enterprises.

He also pointed to the constitutional requirement for Parliament to consider and act on reports from the Auditor General within six months.

The committee chairperson said the issue dates back to the 11th Parliament when the then Speaker wrote to the former PAC-COSASE chairperson, Joel Ssenyonyi, stopping investigations into some entities midway.

Nkunyingi said Ssenyonyi had protested the decision, describing it as an attempt to shield certain statutory bodies and state enterprises from accountability.

“A decision protested by Hon. Joel Ssenyonyi, the then chairperson of the committee, in writing describing it as an erroneous attempt to institutionally shield from scrutiny, for unknown reason, some statutory authorities, commissions and state enterprises that had been duly reporting to PAC-COSASE for all previous years and Parliaments,” Nkunyingi wrote.

The current PAC-COSASE chairperson said the effects of the directive continue to affect the committee’s oversight work, with some entities declining invitations to appear before the committee while citing the Speaker’s earlier guidance.

He singled out the Microfinance Support Centre Limited, saying the state enterprise falls within PAC-COSASE’s mandate because it was established to provide affordable credit and business development services.

“Among the said entities is Micro Finance Support Centre. For instance, the Microfinance Support Centre Limited was incorporated to provide affordable credit and business development services and operates as a state enterprise. It therefore falls within the oversight mandate of PAC-COSASE,” he said.

Nkunyingi has asked the Speaker to urgently reverse the directive, warning that continued restrictions could leave audit reports of some government entities unexamined.

“This brief therefore, is an official reminder for your office to urgently revoke and reverse the erroneous administrative communication by the Speaker of the 11th Parliament as regards the committee mandate over statutory authorities, commissions and state enterprises, lest the audit reports on some entities would continue to enjoy erroneous protection from scrutiny,” he wrote.

He also sought guidance on how the committee should proceed with planned engagements with the affected entities, which he accused of relying on the previous directive to avoid parliamentary accountability.

The letter was copied to the Deputy Speaker, Leader of Opposition, Leader of Government Business and the Clerk to Parliament.