Ssegona grills Equal Opportunities Commission secretary Dr Mukwaya

COSASE yesterday interfaced with officials from the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) to listen to their response to the Auditor General’s Qualified report against the EOC financial statements.

The officials led by the Secretary to the Commission Dr. Nasser Shaft Mukwaya, who’s the Agency’s Accounting Officer we’re presenting their defense and evidence that we Auditor General wrongly “Qualified” their financial statements.

An auditor will give a qualified opinion and qualified report if they can’t confidently clear the organization’s financial statements or financial reporting practices.

The common reason for auditors issuing a qualified opinion is that the company didn’t present its records with GAAP.

GAAP, Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, is a recognized set of rules and procedures that govern corporate accounting and financial. GAAP ensures the transparency and consistency of reporting for public organizations.

Parliament’s Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) then invites the organization to file written replies to the Auditor’s report and also appear to make their case before writing a report to be tabled in the house.

Several accountability inconsistencies came up in the meeting ranging from misappropriation of funds, double/multiple payments, duplication of activities and illegal self allocation of allowances by top management among others and at some point the committee Chair Hon. Sseggona was forced to put the EOP Head of accounts Mr. Charles Wafula under oath over inconsistencies in his submissions.

Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) was established under Article 32(3) of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda and was operationalized by the EOC Act of 2007.

The Commission was established to effect the State’s Constitutional mandate to eliminate discrimination and inequalities against any individual or group of persons and take Affirmative Action in favour of groups marginalised based on sex, colour, race, ethnic origin, tribe, birth, creed or religion, health status and social or economic standing, political opinion or disability or any other reason created by history or custom, for redressing imbalances which exist against them.

Hearings on the mismanagement of resources by this agency resume next week.