The Inspectorate of government has ordered the new board of the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) to sack six staff who were recruited investment executives in disregard of required qualifications. According to the whistleblower, the six employees were recruited during the reign of the former Executive Director of UIA Jolly Kamuhangire.
Those that must face the axe include Mark Wagubala, Simon Paul Ngabo, Kara Tanya Komuhangi, Alice Ndagire, Adam Mutebi and Ida Dean Rwego.
According to the job description, investment executives (IEs) needed to have studied obtained a degree in Commerce, Economics, Business Administration, Entrepreneurship or a related course. However, the six staff lined for sacking respectively possess degrees in ; Quantity Surveying, MBA, Social Science, Business Computing, Procurement and Supplies Chains Management, Law and International Relations.
“The Board should consider reviewing the appointments of Mr Mark Wagubala, Mr Simon Paul Ngabo, Ms Kara Tanya Komuhangi, Ms Alice Ndagire, Mr Adam Mutebi and Ms Ida Dean Rwego who did not have requisite qualifications but were interviewed and appointed as IEs,” said Mariam F. Wangadya, the Deputy Inspector of Government.
The IGG has also ordered the new board to review the land offered to Hoima Sugar Limited, Nile Fireboard Limited and Tasco Industries Limited. The three companies received three acres, two acres and four acres of land respectively on June 30, 2017, having applied for the pieces of land on May 23, 2019. The IGG said the application were not eligible as earlier stated.
“The UIA should ensure that evaluation procedures for applications for land are always followed as outlined in the guidelines,” said Ms Wangadya in a letter dated May 7, 2019.
However, the IGG stated that there was no evidence that Kamuhangire while still in office received Shs400 million as a kickback for offering the land in question as alleged by the whistleblower.
The IGG also said Kamuhangire did not exhaust travel budget in 2017/19 as alleged, noting that UIA had a budget of about Shs281 million but only paid about Shs183 million, leaving about Shs25.9 million unspent.
She also said neither did Kamuhangire use UIA’s resources to fund her husband’s trip for private work in Russia as alleged by the informer.
Further the IGG did not find any evidence that Kamuhangire while in office paid online news channels Chimp Reports or Mulengera News for the alleged smear campaign against UIA staff in the financial year 2017/18.
