According to the Black’s Law Dictionary, public finance is a collection of taxes that is from

those who have benefitted from the government’s providing of goods to the public which tax is
then used to further provide public goods for the population. Professor Bastable, an English
economist defines public finance as a subject that deals with expenditure and income of the
public authorities of the state. Both the aspects (income and expenditure) relate to the states’
financial, administration and control.
Public funds are acquired from the consolidation fund which is provided for under Article
153 of the constitution of the Republic of Uganda which states that, “there shall be a
consolidated fund into which shall be paid all revenues or other monies raised or received for
the government.” This fund consists of taxes and any other revenue payable to the state and it
has an account which is maintained in the Central Bank and it receives all the money paid in
taxes by the public, all fees and various charges payable to the state in grants or loans from
within and outside Uganda.
Various acts are enacted to ensure the control and management of Public funds which
provide laws that are meant to be followed and these are as discussed below;
APPROPRIATION ACT
An appropriation act is a law containing the amount of money to be spent by each
Government ministry, department and local government and authorizing the withdrawal of
that money from the consolidated fund. This law is adopted by Parliament every year to
authorize the executive to finance goods and services required by any ministry or Government
department in the financial year in question. Once signed by the Head of state as stipulated in
Article 155(1), the appropriation act finances the budget process for any one financial year. This
literally means that each and every financial year (July – June) as defined by the constitution, an
appropriation act is enacted. Before this act is adopted, the Parliament discusses with the
executive the details of each vote and agrees on the composition of each vote with regard to
programs and items in the vote. Through this act, the Parliament controls the Executive on the
use of public funds through the budget which is provided for under Article 154(1) (a) and Article
154(1) (b).
Basing on Article 156 of the constitution that provides for the Appropriation Bill which deals
with the consolidated fund to meet the expenditure and appropriation of those sums for the
purposes specified in the bill, I would associate myself with the effectiveness of this act being to
a large extent especially in the two arms of government that is the Legislature and Judiciary.
This is evident through the various debates that are held to discuss the allocation of funds in
these two arms of government. It also gives views in regards to allocation of funds in the
various ministries of the Executive for instance in the ministry of disaster preparedness in cases
of calamities and this shows it is playing its role when it comes to allocation of funds.
However, to a small extent, this act has not been effective i87n the Executive arm of
Government especially in the office of the President. The Parliament with the powers given by
the constitution of Uganda, it is a mandate for the Parliament to control and regulate all monies
in relation to the Appropriation Act and Supplementary Appropriation Act but unfortunately
the Executive seems not to respect this mandate. Basing on the article produced by the Daily
Monitor on Thursday APRIL 11 2013, Parliament was expected to approve a request for an
additional 138.1 Billion Shillings in “EMERGENCY” spending for state house even as some law
makers and civil society activists accused the President of Uganda of being “insensible” to the
needs of the people. The Supplementary schedule No. 1 presented by the junior Finance
Minister then Hon. Matia Kasaija in Parliament amidst protests from opposition law makers
showed that the state house was requesting for an extra 128.5 Billion Shillings under recurrent
expenditure and 9.6 Billion Shillings for development spending. Figures from the Ministry of
Finance indicated that the state house budget had jumped from 66.1 Billion Shillings approved
in September the previous year which was 2012 then to 204.4 Billion Shillings and yet it was not
clear whether the office of the President had cleared all the monies that had been given earlier
on.
Various Parliamentarians such as the leader of opposition then Hon. Nandala Mafabi
attempted to block the supplementary request by the office of the Presidency with claims of it
being insensitive to the needs of the people of Uganda. He wanted to know where the
supplementary funds would be coming from and whether the Ministry of Finance will not cut
budget allocations for other vulnerable sectors like health, education and roads to finance state
house activities. Unfortunately, his request failed as the speaker of the Parliament gave a go
ahead to the Budget Committee to permit the transaction of funds.
THE NATIONAL AUDIT ACT (NAA) OF 2008
This was formerly known as the Auditor General Act but now it is referred to as the National
Act which came to be enacted in 2008. This Act gave effect to Article 163 of the constitution by
providing for the office of the Auditor General. It provides for the appointment, tenure and
removal of the Auditor General, auditing of accounts and giving the Auditor General rights of
access to documents and information relevant to his/her performance.
Article 163(1) of the constitution provide for the appointment of the Auditor General as he
shall be appointed by the President with the approval of Parliament and whose office shall be a
public office. His independence is guarded in the constitution under Article 163(6) which states
that “the Auditor General shall not be under the direction and control of any person or
authority.” The office only reports to Parliament on public accounts every financial year. Section
14 of the National Audit Act equally provides for independence of the Auditor General.
The Auditor General as a controller under Article 154(3) and Section 83(2) of the Local
Government Act, it is provided for that the Auditor General has the sole authority to give
approval for any money to be withdrawn from the consolidated fund account, the general fund
account or district accounts. This helps to minimize misappropriation of funds related cases.
In order to enable the Auditor General, supervise the use of public funds by the Executive,
Parliament ensures that it adopts elaborate laws and regulations to enable him/her discharge
duties. These laws and regulations include the Public Finance and Management Act which
provides that the Auditor General is required to submit an annual audited financial report to
Parliament. The audit report indicates the manner in which the budget was utilized, and whether there
was misappropriation or general misuse of public funds. Article 163(3) of the constitution gives the
office of the Auditor General the mandate to carry out both the financial and value for money audits in
all public offices for instance, he/she is given the mandate under the Local Government Act to audit all
Local Government Council and Administrative unit accounts or any auditor appointed by him. It further
empowers him to carry out surprise audits, investigations or any other audits considered necessary.

Every financial year, the Auditor General produces a report on the standard of financial
management, whether all public assets have been managed according to law. The main public accounts
report is submitted to the Parliament. Copies are given to the president, Minister of Finance and IGG. If
the report concerns affairs of the local government, copies are given to the Minister of Local
Government, the Local Government Public Accounts Committee (LGPAC) the Local Government Finance
Committee and RDC.

The Auditor General has no powers to arrest or prosecute. It is therefore other bodies to whom the
report has been presented that take up the matters therein to apprehend the culprits. One of the bodies
include the Public Accounts Committee which is a standing committee of Parliament which examines the
auditor general’s report and enforces accountability of the officials to the Executive after detailed
interviews. This committee is expected to make its recommendations without any bias, fear or favor and
it is through such a body that we realize the effectiveness of this Act.

THE INSPECTORATE OF GOVERNMENT ACT

It should be traced back to the history of Uganda that the office of the IGG was established after
the coming of Legal notice No. 1 of 1986 of the current NRM government to curb corruption related
issues that had characterized the former governments of Uganda since independence. The office then
received legal backing in 1988 with the enactment of the Inspector General of Government Statute, now
amended IGG Act 2002. It is constitutionally established under Article 223 and Article 225 which
provides for its functions. In regard to ensuring the control of public finances, the IGG is tasked with
some of the following functions;

a) To eliminate and foster the elimination of corruption, abuse of authority and public office.

b) To promote fair, efficient and good governance in public offices.

c) To investigate any act, omission, advice, decision or recommendation by a public officer or any
other authority to which this article applies, taken, made, given or done in exercise of administrative
functions.

Article 223(4) together with Section 4(1) of the IGG Act provide that the IGG and the Deputy IGG
shall be appointed by the President with the approval of Parliament and shall not while holding office,
hold any other office of emolument in the public service. The two-hold office for a term of four years but
are eligible for re-appointment only once.
 Article 227 of the constitution and section 10 of the IGG Act 2002 gives the inspectorate of
Government independence in performance of his/her functions. Both provisions with of course the
constitution being the supreme law state that I.G shall not be subject to the directions or control of any
person or authority and shall only be responsible to Parliament.

Article 230 of the constitution provides special powers to investigate, cause investigations, arrest,
cause arrest, prosecute or cause prosecution in respect of cases involving corruption, abuse of office or
of the public office. This is equally provided for in the IGG Act in Section 14(5).

Article 226 of the constitution provides for the jurisdiction of the inspectorate. It states that “The
jurisdiction of the Inspectorate of Government shall cover officers or leaders whether employed in the
public service or not, and also such institutions, organizations or enterprises as Parliament may
prescribe by law.” Section 9 of the IGG Act 2002 provide for these offices and they include DPP,
Judiciary, Auditor General, Uganda Police Force and Prison Force, UPDF, Parliament among others.

Some of the common cases handled by the IGG include; Bribery, Embezzlement of funds, false
accounting, false accounting among others. However, the IGG is not alone in the fight against the above
crimes. There are other constitutionally established offices (anti-corruption agencies) which coordinate
with the IGG to promote good governance. These include; Directorate of Public Prosecutions, Judiciary,
Auditor General, Uganda Police Force. It is through such establishments that we get to witness the
effectiveness of this institution.

THE TREASURY INSTRUCTIONS AND REGULATIONS.

These are provided for in the Public Finance and Accountability Act under Section 5 which provide
for the Minister of Finance giving instructions and directives that are necessary and expedient for the
proper carrying out of the intent and purposes of parliament and for the safety, economy and advantage
of the public revenue and public property.

Leadership Code Act 2002

The Leadership code Act is enforced by the inspectorate of Government. It is established by
chapter fourteen of the constitution of the republic of Uganda 1995 as amended and it is
backed up with the Leadership Code Act 2002. Article 233(1) stipulates that” Parliament shall by
Law establish a Leadership Code of Conduct for persons holding such offices as may be
specified by Parliament. Section 4 of the Act requires every leader to submit a statement of
income, asset, and liabilities within three months after becoming a leader and thereafter every
two years during the month of March. Such leaders subjected to this code therefore include,
the president, Vice president, Speaker of parliament, Ministers, Members of Parliament,
Judges, Magistrates etc., Permanent secretaries, Headteachers, Principles, Head of Universities
(Government aided), Head of departments. Apart from submitting a statement of income,
assets and liabilities, a leader is prohibited from engaging in certain forms of conduct. Such
prohibited conducts include among many others those that are in relation with the control of
public finances and they are;
1.