The latest scandal in which about Shs60 billion went missing at the Bank of Uganda (BoU) before some of the loot was recovered reminds Ugandans, and others in the region, and the world at large that the country’s Central Bank still has mafias within its ranks, who are keen on stealing money whether it is for the public or private sector.
The latest rot brings back memories of BoU illegally selling commercial banks from the early 1990s to January 2017, when Crane Bank was illegally sold to Dfcu bank in a bizarre transaction.
Those involved in selling commercial banks used the excuses of undercapitalisation, and bad corporate governance to close and then sell the assets of the said banks, and benefit from them financially. The banks that were unfairly closed and liquidated because BoU officials wanted to steal from them were Teefe Bank Limited, Greenland Bank Limited, Global Trust Bank Limited, International Credit Bank, National Bank of Commerce Limited, Cooperative Bank Limited, and Crane Bank Limited, with the latest and a few others lodging cases against BoU in courts of law, over unfair closure.
Those who orchestrated the illegal sale of some of the banks retired without government penalising them, or recovering the money gotten from illegal sale of the banks. They included the former Executive Director of Bank Supervision, Justine Bagyenda, the former Deputy Governor Dr. Louise Kasekende, and the former Director of Banking, Ben Sekabira.
Remember that in the sale of CBL, BoU officials claimed then that they had sunk over Shs476 billion (taxpayers’ money) in the bank in the form of liquidity support. Unfortunately, the former officials failed to account for this money, according to the Auditor General, and instead wanted the shareholders of CBL to pay back the taxpayers’ money, which they never received. Interestingly, During Abdu Katuntu’s COSASE inquiry, it was established that CBL only needed Shs50 billion to keep afloat as revealed by Sekabira, yet BoU officials who were in charge saw this as a chance to steal government money.
Remember having claimed to have sunk Shs476 billion in CBL under receivership, BoU thieves would shockingly sell the assets of CBL to Dfcu at Shs200 billion only, with the money paid in installments. Yet after acquiring CBL, Dfcu, would reap huge profits that it had never made before, or will never make in Uganda. This transaction happened just because BoU mafias wanted to steal from government, and CBL.
Further, the BoU officials had to sell banks like National Bank of Commerce, Global Trust Bank, even as their shareholders were ready to inject in more capital to boost capitalisation curves. This only shows that BoU over time has had mafias, and not senior employees, who are there to steal should any opportunity arise as we saw with the close and liquidation of the banks (Greenland Bank, International Credit Bank, and Cooperative Bank) whose assets were sold at 93 percent discount as claimed BoU officials who were in charge then.
Other mafias, especially those controlling currency at BoU have also stolen billions from Ugandans, a few years ago there was a big scandal in the currency department. Ugandans have not gotten that as the local media was awash with related stories.
There are those BoU who connive with some of the forex bureaus in Kampala to trade in the foreign currency reserves of the country. This money is disbursed in the morning, and by evening the forex bureaus have to return it to BoU, with some profit, going to the mafias at BoU.
Analysts who have been watching senior staff at BoU say there is competition between them to see who steals more money from the public and private sectors. That is why BoU is full of financial rot. These people have used the ill-gotten wealth to invest in real estate, although a few properties are in their names, while most of the wealth is in the names of relatives, and friends.
Right now, Deputy Governor Michael Atingi-Ego must be asking himself many questions, but one wonders if the rot at the Central Bank will be checked when President Museveni appoints a new Governor to succeed the late Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile, whose reign was characterised by fraud at the regulator of the local banking industry.
