Parliament’s Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) has suspended an accountability hearing involving the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) after ruling that it cannot legally interrogate the agency over Auditor General findings until the government formally appoints an accounting officer.
The decision leaves key audit queries for the 2024/25 financial year unanswered and shines a spotlight on a leadership gap at URSB, where top officials are currently under investigation over allegations of corruption, maladministration and governance failures.
The bureau appeared before COSASE on Wednesday led by Acting Registrar General Mustapha Ntale. However, MPs declined to proceed after finding that although Ntale had been directed to perform the functions of Registrar General, there was no evidence that the Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury (PSST), Ramathan Ggoobi, had formally designated him as the institution’s accounting officer.
The committee said that distinction is critical because only a legally appointed accounting officer can answer to Parliament on the management of public resources.
Ntale told MPs that Registrar General Mercy Kainobwisho, Deputy Registrar General and Accounting Officer Alex Anganya and several other senior officials were placed on mandatory leave effective August 17, 2026, following President Yoweri Museveni’s directive to investigate allegations of corruption, maladministration and governance challenges at the bureau.
He explained that Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Norbert Mao had instructed him to carry out the duties of Registrar General during the absence of the affected officials.
COSASE Chairperson Muwada Nkunyingi said the minister’s directive could not substitute for a formal appointment by the PSST for accountability purposes.
“The PSST ought to have written an appointment of the accounting officer in line with accountability issues to help the committee ask questions to the responsible officer,” Nkunyingi said.
The committee directed URSB to provide written proof that the PSST had formally appointed or designated Ntale, or another official, to assume the accounting responsibilities previously held by Anganya.
URSB officials informed the committee that they had written to the Accountant General requesting a change of accounting officer after the mandatory leave took effect.
However, MPs ruled that the correspondence presented did not amount to a formal appointment by the competent authority.
Without that documentation, COSASE said it had no legal basis to hold Ntale personally accountable for the bureau’s finances, forcing the hearing to stop before discussions on the Auditor General’s findings could begin.
The committee’s position is anchored in the Public Finance Management Act, 2015, which provides that an accounting officer must be appointed or designated in writing by the Secretary to the Treasury or under another lawful instrument.
Under Section 45 of the law, an accounting officer bears personal responsibility for controlling public funds, authorising financial commitments and accounting to Parliament for the use of resources under a government vote.
The unresolved appointment also delayed scrutiny of several audit concerns raised against URSB for the 2024/25 financial year.
Among the issues awaiting examination is an alleged Shs289.1 million overstatement of non tax revenue, inconsistencies in the recording of asset acquisition dates, under absorption of funds and inaccurate performance reporting.
The Auditor General also highlighted repeated outages affecting the Online Business Registration System (OBRS), weaknesses in fraud prevention mechanisms, shortcomings in ICT governance, delays in obtaining ISO 9001:2015 certification and continued dependence on external vendors for critical systems.
Another major concern was that 79 percent of sampled government trademarks had not been registered, a gap that could expose government brands, symbols and service marks to unauthorised use.
The stalled hearing comes as the Inspectorate of Government (IGG) continues investigations into allegations of corruption, maladministration and governance failures at the bureau.
URSB officials told MPs that investigators had been deployed at the institution and that management was cooperating by providing documents and other assistance.
The committee emphasised that the ongoing investigations do not amount to a finding of wrongdoing against any individual, but maintained that Parliament cannot exercise effective oversight without first establishing who is legally responsible for the institution’s finances.
Nkunyingi warned that allowing acting officials to make financial and administrative decisions without a clearly defined legal mandate could worsen the accountability concerns already facing the agency.
“That situation is potentially suicidal for the institution,” Nkunyingi said.
URSB plays a central role in Uganda’s economy through business registration, company incorporation, intellectual property protection and trademark administration, making its governance challenges significant beyond the institution itself.
COSASE said it will reconvene the accountability hearing once the PSST formally confirms the bureau’s accounting officer, allowing MPs to proceed with scrutiny of the outstanding audit queries and determine responsibility for the institution’s financial management and operational performance.
