PAC-COSASE chair asks Speaker to lift directive shielding state entities from audit scrutiny

What the report says

Nile Post reports that PAC-COSASE chairperson Nkunyingi Muwada has asked Uganda’s Speaker of Parliament to withdraw an administrative directive from the 11th Parliament that he says has blocked the committee from reviewing audit issues involving some public entities. In a letter dated July 20, 2026 and received by the offices of the Speaker, Deputy Speaker and Leader of the Opposition on July 24, Nkunyingi argued that the earlier guidance is unconstitutional and has left some state enterprises outside regular parliamentary audit scrutiny.

According to the report, Nkunyingi cited constitutional provisions and Parliament’s Rules of Procedure that give the Public Accounts Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises authority to examine audited accounts and Auditor General reports for commissions, statutory bodies and state enterprises. He also noted the requirement for Parliament to consider Auditor General reports within six months, warning that unresolved restrictions could leave some audit reports unexamined.

The Nile Post says the dispute dates to the 11th Parliament, when the then Speaker reportedly wrote to former PAC-COSASE chair Joel Ssenyonyi halting inquiries into certain entities. Nkunyingi said Ssenyonyi objected at the time, viewing the move as wrongly insulating some bodies from accountability. The current chair said the directive is still being relied on by some entities to decline committee invitations.

Nkunyingi specifically mentioned the Microfinance Support Centre Limited, arguing that it operates as a state enterprise and therefore falls under PAC-COSASE’s oversight mandate. He asked the Speaker to urgently revoke the previous communication and advise the committee on how to proceed with planned engagements involving the affected entities. The letter was copied to senior parliamentary offices, including the Deputy Speaker, Leader of Opposition, Leader of Government Business and Clerk to Parliament.