The parliamentary committee on Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) chaired by Bugweri County MP Abdu Katuntu has today tasked the Bank of Uganda to account for all legal fees that it has spent from 2013 including fees involved in the case between BOU and Crane Bank.

The committee guided the BOU officials led by Deputy Governor Louis Kasekende, not to delve into the merits and demerits of the ongoing case between BOU and Crane Bank, but instead breakdown the amount of money that has been spent.

COSASE deputy chairperson of Anita Among noted that despite reports indicating that the BOU spent over Shs 3.6 billion in the financial year 2015/2016, other reports indicate the central bank spent only Shs 1.6 billion.

“Is this a budgetary problem or expenditure problem?’’ Ms. Among wondered.

She further noted that the BOU has nine lawyers however contracts have always been given to external lawyers, adding that the external lawyers have always been paid much money before even signing legal contracts with them.

‘’We want you to give a breakdown of that money, not just saying we spent six billion shillings because it is tax payers money,” Ms Among instructed the BOU officials. Earlier BoU in a press statement denied they hadn’t paid any money to external lawyers but documents obtained but this website show over Shs4 billion was paid to MMAKS Advocates alone.

In response the BOU officials asked for more days to compile a comprehensive report and the committee responded by giving them two days.

The committee will again convene on Tuesday and Wednesday next week after receiving the report.

Last week the EagleOnline broke the story detailing how city law firm MMAKS and audit and accounting firms PwC and KPMG were paid billions of shilling in legal and managements costs by BoU in respect to the ongoing case between the central bank, Crane Bank (in receivership) and city tycoon Sudhir Ruparelia.

The case has since been referred for mediation.
It was discovered during the Committee session to respond to the Auditor General’s queries, that the Central Bank paid out Shs61M in 2013/2014, while in the next financial year, the Bank paid Shs681M in 2014/15 and in 2016/2017,Shs398 million was reported to have been spent by June 2017.
But the legal fees bill shot up in 2017 when Shs1, 446,954,550 was recorded to have been paid by September 15, 2017.

This raised questions over the budgeting process in the Central Bank after it was revealed that most of the money paid in legal fees resulted from other departments.
Committee Chairperson, Abdu Katuntu asked the Central Bank’s officials if they issued any public notice on the amount of money spent on the Crane Bank case.
Margaret Kasule, Legal Counsel at BoU declined to reveal the amount so far spent saying it would jeopardize the merits of the case under mediation at High Court-Commercial Division, stating: “When we were coming for this meeting, we didn’t prepare anything to do with Crane Bank.”
But Katuntu rejected Kasule’s response saying that his demands have nothing to do with the merits of the case.
“I just want to know how much money BoU has spent. Is it that you aren’t hiring qualified lawyers or can’t train them and are doing clerical work? You need to hire lawyers who are well experienced, then train them,” Katuntu said.
During the proceedings, MPs came to learn that the Central Bank hired private lawyers to help register its land titles and mortgages for properties.

Stories Continues after ad

Uganda Police is running a mafia syndicate akin to that described in Mario Puzo’s book the God father, a new report by the International Crisis Group shows.
Only short on naming who the God Father at the helm of the syndicate is, the report says police facilitate organized crime, run protection rackets, run drug deals and engage in turf wars.
Because of that, the report notes, a force supposed to serve and protect is instead contributing to crime.
“Allegations of criminal activity within the police undermine its legitimacy. Violent crime, including murder, is on the rise as police ability to carry out regular duties declines,” the report, released this afternoon in Germany, reads in part.
The reports indictment on Police lends credence to President Museveni’s assertion that force expected to protect people’s property and lives was infiltrated by the ‘mafia’.
It should be remembered that in March this year, while grieving with slain late Assistant Inspector General of Police, Andrew Felix Kaweesi’s family in Kulambiro, Mr Museveni instructed police Chief Gen. Kale Kayihura to clean the force of criminal gangs.
The report blames the degeneration of the erstwhile professional and somewhat effective Police on its being flagrantly politicized by the Uganda’s political leaders.
The Force, the report says, is, “now more focused on disrupting opposition activity than fighting crime, and in part [contributing] to the breakdown of local order as traditional institutions cannot cope with complex societal problems.”
The rise of informal security groups, most notably the Crime Preventers only blur responsibility lines and erode accountability.
“Politicized policing has weakened the influence of better trained and disciplined career officers.
“Police officers carry out functions that are nominally intended to preserve public order yet in reality function as the president’s first line of defense against rivals. They spend much of their time disrupting opposition activities,” the report reads.
Efforts to reach the newly appointed Police Spokesman,, Emilian Kayima, were futile as his phone went answered.
Declining state of affairs
The report also notes that Uganda is gradually slumping into a failed stated due to the inefficiencies brought about by patronage politics and a downward spiral of declining governance, poor economic performance and local insecurity over the uncertainty of the country’s political roadmap.
“President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, in power since 1986, appears unwilling to step down; supporters and detractors alike expect him to rule until he dies or engineers a handover to a close ally or family member.
He will be 77 by the next election in 2021 and is poised to amend the constitution’s 75-year age limit, despite objections from the opposition, civil society and some in his own party,” the report says.
It is however quick to point out that despite his stay in power, President Museveni retains support, particularly in rural areas, not all of which is patronage-based.
This, it says, is because Museveni’s attachment to glory is partly because he brought in peace and economic stability after the 1980s civil wars and eventually defeating the Lord’s Resistance Army rebellion.
In order to mitigate longer-term dangers of civil strife, the report advises donors to be more sensitive to the political impact of their assistance by avoiding projects that contribute to ruling party patronage.
“For its part, President Museveni’s government should: Hold a credible National Dialogue: This should be done by revisiting plans to which the ruling party itself had agreed after the February 2016 election.
“Such a dialogue should be broad-based and focus on popular consultations with Ugandan citizens to discuss issues associated with the presidential succession and reduce fears that it might end in violence. Government should take steps to professionalize the police and improve its leadership,” the report reads.
It further says, “To stop the decline in police operational capacity and address criminality within police ranks, the government should re-institute a merit-based system of promotions in the senior command and investigate and prosecute alleged crimes by members of the force.
It also should end or reduce use of informal, non-uniformed groups, particularly the Crime Preventers and improve local governance.
International Crisis Group is Belgium based and describes itself as an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization committed to preventing and resolving deadly
CLICK on Link
https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/horn-africa/uganda/256-ugandas-slow-slide-crisis

Stories Continues after ad