Money recovered from students who were sponsored by government for tertiary education is being stashed in a P17 million secret bank account which has not been recorded in official books of accounts.
The Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee has ordered an investigation into the curious cash withdrawals on the secret account, which was opened without the knowledge of the Accountant General as is government procedure and is not reflected on the government books of accounts.
The committee revealed in their report that they were shocked to learn that money continues to be withdrawn by unknown individuals from the bank account which currently has a P17 million credit.
The committee further stated in their report that the bank account was unofficially opened.
The committee also noted that according to Finance and Audit Act all government bank accounts are opened with the approval of the Account General.
The committee said that the bank account, however, was not properly opened and currently there have been withdrawals from the bank account by unknown individuals.
The committee, chaired by Nehemiah Modubule, also advised the Accountant General (AG) to audit the account for the whole period it has been operating and report to parliament.
The committee also explained in their report that in the absence of the audit, the extent of withdrawals was not known to the committee.
The report further stated that officials at the Ministry of Education and Skills Development informed the committee that they were two signatories to the account but were no longer with the ministry.
The Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee also requested the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) to investigate the Ministry of Justice, Defence, and Security for alleged malpractices.
Chairman of the PAC Committee, Nehemiah Modubule, charged that the ministry signed a lease with property magnate, Sayed Jamali’s company, without following proper procurement procedures.
Modubule told parliament that his committee has recommended that proper procurement process should be started afresh.
He advised that if DCEC detected any malpractice the suspects should be prosecuted.
