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A UMNS Report
By Rich Peck*
9:00 A.M. ET Dec. 1, 2012 | NASHVILLE, Tenn.
United Methodist Bishop Daniel Wandabula of the East Africa Conference. A UMNS file photo by Annette Spence.
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The General Council on Finance and Administration, meeting Nov. 27-30 in Tampa, Fla., set the salary of East Africa Bishop Daniel Wandabula
at $1,000 per month. Other bishops outside the United States will
receive about $5,500 per month for 2013. The unprecedented action
follows three audits conducted by the United Methodist Board of Global
Ministries.
John Goolsbey, deputy general secretary for the finance agency, told
United Methodist News Service he believes this is the first time in
the nearly 45-year history of the United Methodist Church that a
bishop’s salary has been set at a lower rate. Goolsbey said Wandabula’s
salary will be reset when he and the East Africa Annual Conference are
in full compliance with issues raised by the audits.
The finance agency has broad fiduciary powers to ensure all funds
are handled appropriately, and it has the power to modify amounts
within the Episcopal Fund, which provides financial support for bishops
within and beyond the United States.
The final audit by the mission agency, conducted June 18 to June 30,
2012, stated, “The financial procedures, record keeping, and internal
controls as practiced by the East Africa Annual Conference Office were
found to be lacking in virtually every area.”
Wandabula, in the United States at the end of last week for a meeting of
the United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race, has not responded
to requests for comment on the finance agency's actions.
Suspension of funds
After that audit, the Board of Global Ministries said it was suspending all funds
for the conference until the conference “is prepared to accept
responsibility to be accountable and all internal controls have been
put in place.” The General Council on Finance and Administration followed with a request that all conferences and local churches suspend funding of any projects through the East Africa Annual Conference.
In a separate situation, the Western Pennsylvania Annual (regional) Conference earlier had asked the United Methodist Judicial Council
to review whether funds given to the East Africa Conference were used
in accordance with the intent of the donors as required by the 2008
Book of Discipline (Paragraph 258.4).The Western Pennsylvania
Conference also asked the council to review the manner in which
complaints against the bishop had been handled by the Africa Central
Conference College of Bishops. During a Judicial Council hearing in
October, Wandabula defended his actions and
provided Judicial Council members with a thick binder of documents
related to a church-building project that involved the Pittsburgh East
District in Western Pennsylvania.
The use of $110,736 is in dispute. “These (accusations) paint me in
an extremely negative light,” Wandabula told Judicial Council members
during the hearing. “There is no evidence that funds were misused. The
fact of the matter is that the church was constructed, although is not
completed. … Whatever was done to build the church was done in good
faith.”
The Judicial Council deferred a decision on the Western Pennsylvania request until its spring session in April.
Other issues
Among the irregularities and insufficient documentation reported in
several accounts in the mission agency audit were these items:
- The mission board released $699,409 in Advance funds for the
Humble School, but there were no corresponding bank entries at the
school, and teachers said they had not been paid in the four months
prior to the June audit. Auditors also said that minutes from the
School Management Board make it appear that the bishop made most of the
decisions about running the school.
- Humble School Secondary students are sent to a senior secondary
school. The ledger shows $84,464 was sent to the secondary schools, but
there were no receipts for these payments.
- A total of $253,665 was sent for the Hope for Africa Children’s
Choir in Uganda, but a majority of expenses could not be verified.
- A total of $24,796 was given for an HIV/AIDs awareness program,
but “there were no details of workshops held, attendance, or what
expenses were incurred.”
- About $94,000 was donated for the construction of Trinity United
Methodist Church in Wanyange, Uganda, but no title deed is available,
and there is no accounting for $73,214 of that total.
- The United Methodist Women Center in Jinja, Uganda, received
$6,000. There was documentation for payment of stipends to teachers,
but no financial record was found on site.
- A total of $13,165 was given to a center to provide vocational
training and spiritual formation for rural famers, but there was no
financial record.
- A grant of $9,100 was given to provide training in accounting for
the conference treasurer, but there was no evidence of any training
experience.
- A total of $15,312 was given for livestock at a farm, but the farm contained no livestock.
- A grant of $6,200 was provided to buy motorcycles for 40 district superintendents, but only $200 could be documented.
- A total of $5,309 was released to Bishop Wandabula for the Rwanda
Advance, although the voucher says the money was paid to Joe
Muhakarize.
Much of the money given to East Africa Annual Conference came
through the Advance, a fund for voluntary giving in which annual
conferences, districts, local churches, and individuals and families
may select a particular project. Each project has been vetted by the
mission agency and the Advance committee and is audited at least
annually.
“There have been occasions when audits raised some questions, but
these questions are usually resolved,” said Bishop Peter Weaver, chair
of the Board of Global Ministries Independent Audit Committee. “In this
case, the mission and finance agencies of the denomination have found
across-the-board inadequate accounting procedures. These actions to
suspend funds and lower the rate of a bishop’s salary are a last resort
to ensure that funds are delivered in accordance with the donor’s
wishes. We are continuing to work with Bishop Wandabula in the hope
that these matters may be resolved and the mission of Christ can be
fruitful in the East Africa Annual Conference.”
When asked to comment on the action, Council of Bishops President
Rosemarie Wenner said: “GCFA has the task to set standards and
supervise audits so that United Methodists continue to trust that money
which they donate for the mission work is spent appropriately. I
appreciate the efforts of GCFA and GBGM (Board of Global Ministries) to
do an appropriate audit in East Africa and in all parts of the church.”
“The leadership of the COB encourages Bishop Wandabula to fulfill the
requirements of the auditors," Bishop Wenner said, "so that the
conferences, agencies and individuals in our connection will continue
to partner with the East Africa Annual Conference for the sake of those
children and adults in the area who need support to receive education,
health care and spiritual and physical nourishment.”
*Peck is a retired clergy member of New York Annual Conference, living in Nashville, Tenn.
News media contact: Tim Tanton, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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