Ramathan Ggoobi demands an internal audit overhaul

Pension overpayments topping 31 billion shillings just exposed how badly Uganda's local government audit systems need a complete rewiring.

Ggoobi sounds the alarm in Kampala

• Ramathan Ggoobi, Uganda's Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury, called for a full overhaul of internal audit systems.
• Over a third of public spending flows through local governments, and that is where oversight keeps failing.
• His warning came during a meeting with district-level audit heads at the Finance Ministry.

Recurring problems bleeding the budget

• Ghost-worker risks, diverted funds, and wild procurement-price swings keep showing up in audits.
• Pension overpayments exceeding 31 billion shillings stem from outdated records and weak verification.
• These leakages pile onto a budget already squeezed by rising debt-servicing costs.

Four structural gaps Ggoobi identified

• Auditors obsess over compliance paperwork instead of doing risk-based analysis.
• Follow-up on audit recommendations is basically nonexistent.
• Skills gaps are widening as government systems go digital.
• Internal audit units lack the operational independence to do their jobs properly.

Reform commitments on the table

• Ggoobi pledged to beef up the Office of the Internal Auditor General.
• Expanded IT audit training is part of the modernization push.
• He wants auditors mining IFMS analytics and payroll-trend data instead of shuffling paper.
• Every wasted shilling means higher taxes, more debt, or worse services, per Ggoobi.