Audit reports: Senate panel threatens to order arrest of heads of MDAs

The senate committee on public accounts has threatened to issue a warrant of arrest against heads of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) who fail to come before it and account for monies they have spent.

Speaking with journalists at the national assembly on Thursday, Matthew Urhoghide, chairman of the committee on public accounts, said some agencies have not accounted for money they spent five years ago.

Urhoghide said instead of coming before his committee, the MDAs have been giving “absurd” reasons for failing to show up.

The senator said there would be a warning first before a warrant of arrest is issued against anyone who fails to appear before his committee.

“We have been calling these people to come and account for monies that have been given to them five years ago. They are still escaping and giving diverse reasons, untenable reasons for not appearing before the committee,” Urhoghide said.

“I want you the press to hear how absurd they are. The ministry of information said why they will not appear before the committee today is that the consultants handling a computer project are not available. What is our business with the contractor, what is our business with the consultant that did your job in 2015?

“Come and tell us what happened. The ministry of power said that the reason why they are not here is because they have not gotten. These queries have been given to them a long time ago. At every conference they tell them that this is an infraction you are committing.

“Warrant of arrest is the exclusive preserve of the senate because it is prescribed in our constitution.

“The last resort is to compel anybody to come and give account from any expenditure or where it is suspected that there has been infraction, I want to say we are going to do just that – after the first warning you don’t come, it is going to be a warrant of arrest.”