Parliament Report Pins KCCA, Orders Recovery of NSSF Remittance for Pensionable Staff

The Parliamentary Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) has faulted the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) causing a financial loss to the government by remitting 10 percent contribution to the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) for its pensionable staff.

In a report to Parliament following investigations that resulted from a Whistleblower petition to the Speaker of Parliament, the COSASE led by outgoing Kawempe South MP Mubarak Munyagwa, has recommended that KCCA recovers the money erroneously remitted to the NSSF from the outstanding terminal benefits of former.

The Committee was in agreement with the Whistleblower’s prayer that KCCA staff that have since retired or resigned from the Authority but benefited from the 10 percent monthly remittance to the NSSF during their time at work be made to pay back the money to the Consolidated Fund. He demanded that the Accounting Officer makes good of the loss if no recoveries are made.

“The Committee recommends that the Accounting Officer of KCCA should expedite the process of recovery of the funds and remit the same to the Consolidated Fund. The Ministry of Finance should ensure that gratuity is not paid to retiring staff before full recovery made,” the report seen by CEO East Africa Magazine reads in part.

The report, which was on the Order Paper for plenary on Tuesday but was not handled, indicates that the COSASE having interfaced with new KCCA Executive Director, Dorothy Kisaka, has since established that the Authority stopped making 10 percent monthly remittance to NSSF on behalf of the staff on permanent basis.

“She further reported that recoveries were to be made from gratuity of both staff who are still in service and those who retired but have not been given their terminal benefits” the report adds.

The Whistleblower in his petition dated August 20, 2019 did not mention the number of affected employees and how much KCCA under Ms Jenifer Musisi lost through erroneous remittances to the NSSF.

In the report, the COSASE has recommended that the Whistleblower be paid 5 percent of the total money recovered within six months after it is collected and banked in the Consolidated Fund as per the provisions of the Whistleblowers Act, 2010.

The Committee which found the petitioner’s prayer to prosecute KCCA and NSSF officials who were involved in these transactions “not tenable” but recommended that the former KCCA boss who ignored advice from the Solicitor General and continued to remit the money to NSSF be personally held liable “for the loss of public funds and should be penalized in accordance with the law”.

In a September 11, 2019 letter to the Secretary to the Public Service Commission, Francis Atooke the Solicitor General advised that KCCA staff on permanent employment is pensionable because the Authority is part of the Central Government hence being part of Public Service.