Kabale University financial records impress Parliament's PAC

The accountability committee chaired by Hon. Medard Sseggona, was particularly impressed on Thursday, September 22, because it has only been six years since the institution metamorphosed from a private to a public university.

Kabale University management led by the University Secretary, Johnson Munono, was appearing before PAC to respond to queries raised by the Auditor General in the Financial Year 2020/ 2021 report.

During the meeting, the committee sought responses to key issues raised by the Auditor General that among others included; accumulated receivables of Shs3.1 billion resulting from outstanding fees that are not collected and long outstanding payables of Shs1.8 billion as of 30th June 2021.

Munono said the decline in fees collections was due to the second lockdown of June 2021 instituted by the President to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.

“However, when the universities opened, out of the outstanding receivables of Shs3.1billion, a total of Shs2.7 billion was collected by the close of the Financial Year 2021/2022 which accounts for 88.6 percent collection,” said Gad Twesigye, the University Bursar.

The uncollected 11.4 percent of the fees are a result of students who had enrolled but dropped out due to the effect of COVID-19 that had a financial toll on parents.

“We now have a policy where you do not sit for exams without paying fees and arising from that, we were able to collect the Shs2.7 billion out of the target of Shs3.1 billion; but you cannot rule out that some of the students dropped out,” Munono said.

According to Twesigye, the long outstanding arrears of Shs1.8 billion relate to domestic arrears that were inherited by the University from the private dispensation and that Shs1.5 billion has since been waived by Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), while the balance has been agreed upon to be paid by the Permanent Secretary/Secretary to the Treasury.

Hon Okin Ojara (FDC, Chua West County) said other public institutions should benchmark with Kabale University to improve their efficiency in revenue collection and funds absorption.

Founded as a community university in 2002, Kabale University was transformed from a private to a public University under Statutory Instrument No. 36 on July 15 2015.