The Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) Executive Director, Andrew Kitaka has admitted that the Authority wrongfully made contributions to the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) for some top staff who are entitled to gratuity.
Kitaka who was responding to a whistleblowers petition to the Speaker about loss of funds by the Authority, before House Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) however said that they had stopped the payments to NSSF.
The meeting between KCCA staff and the Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises was held on Tuesday 17 March 2020.
In the petition, the whistleblower said that KCCA is paying 10 percent of salary to NSSF in addition to gratuity to the staff at the end of their tenure. The petitioner claimed that KCCA lost a lot of money praying that persons involved be prosecuted, and that those who benefited be made to pay back.
Kitaka said that they made the NSSF contributions as the Uganda Revenue Authority was taxing the gratuity, but added that no financial loss was made.
“This gratuity was taxed at 40 percent and there is no loss of money because the 40 percent tax is equivalent to the NSSF contributions” he said.
The KCCA Director of Legal Affairs, Caleb Mugisha, told MPs that since December 2019, the Authority had stopped the NSFF contributions and that the process of redeeming tax remitted on gratuity is ongoing.
Legislators doubted that KCCA ever made the contributions to NSSF castigating it for conniving with a weak system.
“We do not even know whether the said contributions ever reached NSSF,” said Ssemujju Nganda, Chief Opposition Whip.
Ssemujju said the fact that beneficiaries of double payment in this case were in top management, raised many questions and wondered where KCCA got money it contributed to NSSF which had not been budgeted for.
The MPs resolved to summon all directors who have worked at KCCA since 2012, to appear before committee on 23 March 2020 and ask them to refund the money received.
“All these directors who have benefited from NSSF must be made to refund this money,” said Ssemujju.
