Under the leadership of Hon. Mwine Mpaka, the committee on Trade, Tourism and Industry decided to summon, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Cooperatives, Geraldine Ssali and all officials as they investigate the alleged irregularities with in the Ministry.
The decision to arrest the three officials was made following the irregular multiple withdrawals of fuel at the Bukoto Total Energy station on July 30, 2022.
Chairperson of the Committee on Trade, Industry, and Tourism, Hon. Mwine Mpaka, confirmed the development expressing concern over the misuse of government funds.
“The irregular withdrawal of fuel and the subsequent loss of public funds is unacceptable. We take this matter seriously and have handed over the three officers to the police for further investigation.” Stated Mwine.
Surprisingly in the Tuesday committee meeting, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Trade, Geraldine Ssali , made clarifications in the expenses in transporting the Ministry documents from Farmers House in Kampala to Entebbe.
She claimed that only 59.3 million shillings was spent which is contrary to earlier allegations of 400 million shillings.
Committee members were left in shock as it was revealed that some of Ministry staff are receiving more fuel than the ministers themselves.
PS Ssali also looked puzzled after discovering that some ministers were not receiving their monthly fuel entitlements.
Ssali also presented before the committee probing the saga documents showing fuel consumption of the Ministers.
"Here is proof , the Senior Minister Francis Mwebesa received fuel worth 39 million shillings, State Minister for Trade Harriet Ntabazi 59.2 million shillings, State Minister for Industry David Bahati 41.9 million shillings, and State Minister for Cooperatives Fred Ngobi Gume 43 million shillings" PS- Ssali.
she told the committee that she was shocked to learn from the media that some of there ministers were not receiving their monthly fuel allocations. "We will address this issue promptly and ensure that the distribution of fuel is fair and transparent,” Ssali remarked.
The committee is not yet contented with what was presented by PS Ssali and according to inside sources in the committee more arrests may be carried out to establish who has been eating Government Funds.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNW:
One of the issues being investigated is the ministry’s decision to use supplementary funds amounting to Shs 5 billion originally meant for renting new offices at Kingdom Kampala Building, for the rehabilitation of their existing offices at Farmers House on Parliamentary Avenue.
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It was also revealed that the ministry spent an exorbitant amount of Shs400 million on transporting files from Kampala to Entebbe during the rehabilitation process, which has raised eyebrows among committee members, though this was clarifies by the PS.
The ministry also purchased laptops worth Shs162 million for staff members to work from home and procured five used vehicles at a cost of Shs600 million each.
During the committee meeting held on Monday, 03 July 2023, Hon. Mwine Mpaka disclosed that the ministry had committed the government to a multi-year expenditure of Shs6 billion without obtaining authorization from Parliament, which he said is a violation of the Public Finance Management Act.
The meeting also revealed that the rehabilitation contract was awarded through direct procurement, bypassing necessary due diligence procedures.
Mpaka highlighted discrepancies in the cost of the renovation project where the initial estimate from the Ministry of Works was Shs3.1 billion, but this was later inflated to Shs6.2 billion, suggesting potential misconduct in fund allocation.
“The person who entered the Bills of Quantities (BOQs) into the system claims that he was also removed from the system and transferred. The procurement officer claims that he was also transferred,” Mpaka said.
Initially, the committee had requested for the appearance of Geraldine Ssali.
However, she informed the committee that she had already submitted all relevant documents and had stated everything she needed to say.
Nevertheless, after interacting with the former Head of Procurement Officer, Alfred Lapyem and Evarist Ahimbisibwe, the former Principal Administrative Secretary, the committee decided to invite the Permanent Secretary since the two officials had been logged out of the system and transferred.
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Hon. David Kalwanga raised concerns about the cost of transporting files to Entebbe, questioning why it amounted to Shs400 million when a truck full of sand costs only Shs2 million from Masaka to Kampala.
Mpaka stated that they would request the Speaker to summon Ssali, and if she refuses to appear, criminal summons will be issued.
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