Bill proposes wealth declarations for school bursars and their families
The Basic Education (Amendment) Bill, 2025, sponsored by Sirisia MP John Waluke, proposes lifestyle audits for bursars and accountants in schools and institutes of basic education.
Public school bursars and accountants could soon be required to declare their wealth and that of their families if a Bill currently before Parliament is approved.
The Basic Education (Amendment) Bill, 2025, sponsored by Sirisia MP John Waluke, proposes lifestyle audits for bursars and accountants in schools and institutes of basic education.
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The Bill also extends the requirement to spouses and dependent children, a move Waluke said would prevent concealment of illegally acquired property.
Waluke urged the Education committee to endorse the proposal for publication, saying bursars and accountants have, for years, taken advantage of their positions to misuse school resources.
“Since time immemorial, in basic education institutions, bursars and accountants, being appointees of the boards of governance, have been manipulating the funds to their advantage, which results in self-enrichment. This is in contravention of the Public Officers Ethics Act,” he told the committee.
He said lifestyle audits would promote transparency and ensure compliance with the Public Audit Act in the management of education funds.
“This will cause public funds to be used prudently. In the end, this will enhance the proper implementation of the right to education as envisaged under the Constitution,” Waluke said.
The MP maintained that since Parliament appropriates salaries for staff in schools, bursars and accountants should be regarded as public officers and subjected to the same scrutiny as other state employees.
“A person who uses his office to improperly confer a benefit on himself or anyone else is guilty of an offence as stipulated under Section 46 of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act and shall be deemed to be an act of abuse of office,” Waluke said.
He further explained that he will push for amendments to require transfers of bursars and accountants every three years to reduce opportunities for corruption.
“The bursars are like civil servants; why should they serve in one school forever? That is what breeds corruption and misuse of public resources. These people (bursars) have messed up many schools; they have acquired properties all over that you cannot even explain,” he said.
The MP added that including spouses in lifestyle audits would ensure accountability by blocking attempts to invest stolen money through relatives.
The Education committee will examine the proposal before making a decision on whether the Bill should be published. If recommended, it will then be introduced in the National Assembly for First Reading.
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