The Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chaired by Butere MP Tindi Mwale holds a sitting on April 15, 2025. /PAC
The Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has ordered the National Police Service (NPS) to immediately transfer the management of its payroll to the National Police Service Commission (NPSC), citing a breach of constitutional provisions.
The directive was issued during a PAC session convened to examine the Auditor-General’s report on the accounts of the NPS for the financial year ending 2023.
The report raised an audit query regarding the failure to implement the commission’s mandate as required by law.
Committee members expressed concern over the continued management of the payroll by the NPS, stating it was in direct violation of Article 246 of the constitution.
The Article assigns the NPSC sole authority over all human resource functions within the National Police Service, including payroll oversight.
In his appearance before the committee, Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja dismissed claims that the NPS had failed to cooperate with the commission.
“The National Police Service has always maintained a constructive, respectful, and professional working relationship with the National Police Service Commission,” Kanja said.
“NPS remains committed to continued institutional cooperation and full facilitation of the commission’s work in accordance with the law.”
Despite these assurances, PAC members demanded to know why the NPS continued to withhold the payroll function from the NPSC.
Kanja responded that the service had consistently provided the commission with access to conduct human resource audits upon request.
However, the committee rejected this explanation, insisting that mere access was inadequate.
Members argued that the commission must have full control over the payroll function in order to effectively discharge its constitutional mandate.
PAC chairperson Tindi Mwale directed that the payroll be handed over to the commission without further delay.
He instructed the NPSC to report back to the committee within two weeks on the status of implementation.
Retaining payroll allows the NPS to directly manage financial and human resource operations, giving it more autonomy over staffing, promotions, salaries, and allowances.
Releasing it to the NPSC could dilute that internal control.
Some quarters have also attributed the friction to overlapping roles and perceived encroachment.
Even though the constitution mandates NPSC to handle HR functions, the NPS may view full transfer of payroll as weakening its operational independence.
There have been concerns too that handing over payroll functions could introduce delays in salary processing, as financial decisions made by NPS leadership would now be subject to more external scrutiny.
The PAC’s insistence on full compliance within two weeks signals growing parliamentary impatience with what it views as deliberate non-compliance.
