Museveni to quiz UIA officials over Shs500m

More than twelve Uganda Investment Authority officials involved in what has become ‘the honoraria cash saga’, will today appear before the president to explain their role in the controversial payment of Shs545m taken from a loan-funded project.

High-placed sources told Monitor that the seven-member board, chaired by Mr Morrison Rwakakamba, has also been summoned to State House Entebbe to explain how the money meant for infrastructural transformation project at Kampala Industrial Park was shared amongst the 14 UIA officials including the Director General, Mr Robert Mukiza.

The president last week met Finance Minister Matia Kasaija and the junior Finance Minister in charge of investment docket, Ms Evelyn Anite, who had earlier in a plain-speaking June 12 letter to UIA board chairperson, described the honoraria payment from a project loan as “despicable, uncouth, barbaric and uncultured”.

UIA spokesperson, Mr David Rupiny confirmed that a selected number of the entity’s top officials were attending the meeting at State House but did not have further information.

“I don’t have the details [but] what I know is that there is a meeting going on in the State House. I don’t know the Agenda,” he said.

In the Wednesday meeting at State House, the ministers accused the DG Mukiza of telling lies to the president that the board had approved the impugned payment. The DG had reportedly told the President that the Rwakakamba board approved the payment, a claim Ms Anite and Kasaija dismissed as “an outright lie” in the meeting.

On June 14, Ms Anite wrote on her official X handle: “This corruption in government must stop. Thank you UIA chairman @Rwakakamba & Board members for refusing to grant permission to @ugandainvest staff to pay themselves UGX 500m Honoraria out of loan meant for Namanve infrastructure development. Ensure the money they took is refunded.”

The ministers told the president that Lagan-Dott Namanve Ltd, the company contracted to develop key enabling infrastructure including roads, drainage systems and fibre optics raised red flags and demanded that the money UIA officials shared be refunded.

The minister’s tweet came on the same day DG wrote to The Authorized Representative Legan-Dott Namanve Ltd, requesting for the contractor account details for the refund of Honoraria paid to the project management team and UIA staff.

He referred to a letter from the Minister of State in charge of privatization and Investment dated June 12, 2024 directing the refund of honoraria paid to PMT and a section of UIA staff and attached a copy of the same letter for ease of reference. Further reference was made to a letter dated June 13 from the chairperson UIA board requesting DG to implement the minister’s directives.

On June 15th, Ms Anite again wrote on her official X handle: “Fellow citizens, thank you very much for all your support to me in the fight against corruption. The good news is the DG @mukiza_robert has agreed to refund the money he & team received from the infrastructure loan, which Ugandan taxpayers will have to pay back with interest.”

The Minister explained that she was informed about the honoraria deal by the British High Commission through Lagan, the contractor on the project and as ministers, their job is to supervise management through the board. “Once I was informed in writing, I called board members and demanded the minutes approving the payment. They indicated that they didn’t approve the payment,” Ms Anite explains.

Efforts to get a comment from both Mukiza and Rwakakamba were futile because they could not be reached on their known telephone numbers by press time.

Mr Mukiza, speaking through an intermediary, told this newspaper last week the honorarium is perfectly legal because it was already spelt out in the contract. “Maybe the minister is being misled or she has not read the contract in detail,” he said.

After Ms Anite directed the UIA officials to refund the money, Mr Rwakakamba in the June 12 letter informed Mr Mukiza that, “I have received a letter dated 12th June 2024 from the Hon. Everlyn Anite, Minister of State in Charge of Privatization and Investment with the above captioned subject. I have attached a copy for ease of reference. Accordingly implement her directives,”

Ahead of today’s meeting, Ms Anite on June 15 posted on her official X-platform saying that  Mr Mukiza had agreed to refund the money.

“Fellow citizens, thank you very much for all your support to me in the fight against corruption.The good news is the DG @mukiza_robert has agreed to refund the money he & team received from the infrastructure loan, which Ugandan taxpayers will have to pay back with interest,” the post read.

It is not however clear if the rest of the members have also agreed to refund the money.

The Monitor understands that top officials from Lagan-Dott Namanve Ltd, the financiers of the project flew from the UK to attend today’s meeting at State House

Source MONITOR