MPs Detain Auditors Over Unaudited Digital Number Plate Project

Members of Parliament on the Physical Infrastructure Committee have ordered the detention of two senior officials from the Office of the Auditor General. The decision came after the officials admitted that the controversial Intelligent Transport Monitoring System (ITMS), which includes digital number plates, had not undergone any audit since its inception.

The committee, chaired by Mwine Mpaka, expressed strong dissatisfaction with the apparent failure of the audit office to fulfill its statutory obligations. The ITMS project has been in implementation since 2021, and the Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) Act mandates quarterly audits from the project’s start.

Officials presented a statement from the Auditor General, Edward Akol, attributing the delay to planning for the 2025 audit year and subsequent information-gathering processes. The statement indicated the project was classified as security-related and fully financed by a Russian company, Joint Stock Company Global Security Limited.

This explanation did not appease the committee, which questioned how government accountability could be established for a project where citizens are paying significant fees for digital number plates. Mpaka argued that private financing does not negate the need for scrutiny, especially when the project involves public payments and potential revenue generation through fines.

Further compounding the issue were discrepancies between previous ministry statements and the auditors’ current submissions. Committee members highlighted that the Ministry of Works and Transport had previously informed them that auditing had commenced, directly contradicting the auditors’ current claims.

Following the exchange, Mpaka ordered the detention of the two officials, citing dereliction of duty and betrayal of the nation. They were taken into custody to provide statements, with their release contingent on the Auditor General appearing before the committee. The inquiry is part of broader parliamentary scrutiny into the digital number plate project’s financing, contracts, and implementation.

Source: Nile Post