IGG petitioned to probe Uganda Investment Authority boss

Kampala- Two letters, written on June 20 and June 22, have petitioned the Inspector General of Government (IGG) to investigate Ms Jolly Kaguhangire, the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) executive director over abuse of office, possession of firearms by some workers and corruption, among others.

In the letters, the petitioners also accuse Ms Kaguhangire of wrongfully using her powers to manipulate the board in regard to the ongoing restructuring process that started in February.
“In an attempt to discredit UIA staff and management, the ED [executive director] embarked on a smear campaign through online platforms. Through her PA [personal assistant] she started leaking false information about UIA. She used this method to manipulate the board into agreeing with her that a restructuring was very necessary.

“It is a textbook technique in change management that for stakeholders to recognise the need for change, the change champion creates a sense of urgency by painting a worse picture than reality,” the petition reads in part.
IGG spokesperson, Ms Munira Ali, confirmed receipt of the petitions but said it was too early to determine the course of action.

Intimidating the board
The petitioners, who signed off the letters as staff of UIA, also accuse Ms Kaguhangire of intimidating the board chairman through an investigation by the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI), which resulted into the arrest of UIA’s director lands division on account of selling murram and sand illegally.

She is also accused of ignoring advice and attempting to withdraw land from investors, which has exposed the investment agency to litigation and possible loss of money.
Ms Kaguhangire, was appointed UIA executive director in April last year, replacing Dr Frank Ssebowa whose term expired in 2016.

In March, she embarked on a restructuring process that sent home five directors and is likely to affect a number of lower cadre jobs.

In a telephone interview at the weekend, Ms Kaguhangire told Daily Monitor the petitioners are ill-minded people trying to divert attention from her achievements that have propelled growth in the investment sector.
“It is not UIA staff, it is just some people who want to fight me. If it were them, it would have showed that it was official. It is a malicious letter. We are doing a restructuring and people do not like it. So they take advantage [by playing emotional games],” she said.

She also denied claims of taking decisions in exclusion of the board, saying the restructuring is being conducted by 11 board member as part of the 2016-21 strategic plan.
UIA has in the past five years been criticised for failing to sufficiently attract enough investments to absorb the growing in unemployment.

For instance, a number of projects such as Namanve Business Park have largely remained on paper with little invested to realise their potential.

Subsequently, the agency has also been registering persistent drops in investor inflows due to an unpredictable political environment.

For instance, in a report released in May, UIA registered a drop in licensed projects from 422 projects to 193 projects.

The drop was, according to UIA, was a result of the Age Limit politics that largely turned violent, climaxed by fighting in Parliament and violent dispersing of Opposition rallies by police across the country.
In a statement on Friday, UIA said the petitions were a malicious attempt to divert attention from the ongoing restructuring process.

“There is no evidence that the letter(s) is from UIA staff because it was not dated, neither referenced nor signed by any UIA staff. [Mr] Ronald Mukasa who is transmitting the same letter(s) by email has ever been a staff of UIA,” the statement reads in part.

The statement also defended the restructuring process, saying it had been approved in line with the 2016-2021 strategic plan and officially communicated to all staff.

Recurring events

Similar events: In July last year, the same issues were brought to the attention of the board but towards the end of the year, Ms Kaguhangire revealed they had been handled internally with the board squashing them after discovering that the claims were baseless.

Asked if she thinks the complaints are coming from the same people, Ms Kaguhangire said that much as she does not want to speculate, there was a possibility that they are the same people.

[email protected]