UGANDA'S PERMANENT SECRETARY, JAMES MUGUME IMPLICATES MUSEVENI IN THE CHOGM SCANDAL, SAYING M7 APPROVED USH.2.7 BILLION

Tuesday, 8th December, 2009
Mugume appearing before the public accounts committee yesterday

NEW VISION, UGANDA
By Henry Mukasa

PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni sanctioned the release of $1.3m (2.7b) to J&M Airport Road Hotel for the completion of 200 rooms for the Commonwealth summit, Parliament heard yesterday.

In a closed meeting with members of the public accounts committee, the Permanent Secretary in the foreign affairs ministry, James Mugume, said he implemented a Presidential directive.

Committee chairman Nandala Mafabi (FDC) said he had accepted the closed meeting to give the ministry’s team confidence to speak freely but it gave information already in the MPs’ possession.

“We got a document that the President directed the release of the money,” Nandala told journalists after the meeting. “On October 26, there was a directive from State House to give money to J&M.”

However, the money was released only two days before the Commonwealth summit.

Nandala, who was flanked by Theodore Sekikubo (NRM), said the committee was keen on finding out who lobbied for the hotel.

“How did the President determine $1.3m? There must have been someone who took the file to him.”

Sekikubo observed that the President never visited any of the hotels and it was important to find who was behind the deal.

“Who said J&M needed money and 200 rooms could be completed in two days? We want to disaggregate this and find out who played which role,” Sekikubo noted.

“They took advantage (of CHOGM) to carry out mischief. They conjured that this was the only way to get the money.”

Before the closed meeting, Mugume had faced a barrage of questions from MPs who wanted to know who belatedly smuggled the Airport Road hotel onto the list of CHOGM hotels.

Mugume kept referring to a directive from a ‘cabinet sub-committee’. He laboured to explain that the objective of the funding was in line with the policy to have 5,000 hotel rooms ready for the summit.

“True, in terms of CHOGM, they were late. But the policy was there should be 5,000 rooms so that when the summit is taking place, the whole city doesn’t choke,” Mugume said.

According to the Auditor General’s report, J&M was not on the list of approved CHOGM venues and no activity was supposed to have been hosted there.

“In fact, no CHOGM activity was held at the hotel,” the report said, adding that two days before the summit started, the hotel had not yet opened for business.

According to minutes of a Cabinet meeting chaired by the President on July 20, 2007, J&M hotel was not on the list, Mafabi pointed out.

Mugume explained that it was later included by a Cabinet directive. This prompted Winfred Niwagaba and Rose Namayanja (NRM) to demand evidence of the Cabinet directive.

But Mugume’s defence was shot down by Peter Mutuluza. The NRM legislator said minutes of an October 18, 2007 meeting showed that it was Mugume who proposed that supplementary expenditure amounting to $1.3m be secured to cater for the J&M hotel.

At this juncture, tempers flared up as enraged MPs said the PS had been moving the committee in circles. Theodore Sekibuko (NRM) and Henry Banyenzaki (NRM) demanded that Mugume takes oath before he makes any other submission.

“Let him take oath now without any other delay. We are tired of games,” an angry Sekikubo shouted.

Nandala then ruled that all witnesses will henceforth be subjected to oath. Mugume at this point asked for a closed meeting with the chairman. Other members protested and Mathias Nsubuga (DP) proposed that the press people leave the room.

After 40 minutes the press was re-admitted. “We want thank you for the insight. We are going to use these minutes of October 18, 2007 to know who put J&M Hotel Bwebajja on the list and who agreed on the figure of $1.3m,” Nandala commented.

He said there were many flaws in the deal. Two years after CHOGM, he noted, the Government had not yet received the share certificate for its contribution.

He further noted that the Minister of Finance, the Attorney General, the Secretary to the Treasury and Mugume put sh2.7b of public funds at stake and would ultimately pay when the money is deemed irretrievable.

Nandala also observed that the Attorney General misled the Government when he approved sinking billions into a company that was facing liquidation and wrangles with banks.

Mugume was also grilled on the storage of CHOGM furniture and sh2m spent on a consultant to find out the prices of conference facilities of local hotels.

On furniture Mugume said a process of disposal was on. On the sh2m consultancy fee, the PS said the ministry used an anonymous person to establish the cost of conference facilities so that the bills are not hiked.

However, according to the Auditor General’s report, all hotels hiked their bills during CHOGM, with some increasing their rates for conference facilities nine-fold.

Mugume returns to the committee today to answer queries related to publicity of CHOGM activities.