Kahooza hands over office

By Richard Mutumba FORMER Auditor General James Kahooza has handed over the Audit Department to Mr. John Muwanga. Muwanga was nominated by President Yoweri Museveni last October. He was the acting director of accounts in the Ministry of Finance. Handing over the department, Kahooza urged Muwanga to be guided by the Constitution and the Public Finance Act. He advised him to be firm in controlling the consolidated fund and not to allow himself to be pushed by anybody to act illegally. Kahooza reminded Muwanga that the stature of the department depended on the character of its head. "If he is known to be soft, people in the Executive will begin to take him for granted and put more pressure on him," he said. Mwanga, 44, is a member of the Association of the Chartered Certified Accountants and that of the Institute of Certified Public Accounts of Uganda. He worked for Coopers and Lybrand (Price Waterhouse Coopers) in several of its offices around the world soon after graduating as a certified accountant in 1979. Kahooza, 61, retired in December 1997. He had been serving on contract for two years. His contract was renewed last year after the Government failed to get a replacement. The renewal followed an IGG report which said the then presidential nominee, Ben Okello Luwum, was not fit for the job. Museveni nominated Luwum in 1999. He was approved by Parliament on March 10, 1999. But his credibility was questioned after an investigation by the IGG revealed that he had been involved in a wrangle between two top associations of accountants. MPs had threatened to oppose Muwanga's nomination until they were told what had happened to Luwum whom they had earlier approved for the post. They said the President did not tell Parliament why he did not appoint Luwum. Ends.