Let Parliament do its oversight work

While meeting the National Resistance Movement Caucus Members of Parliament on Tuesday, President Museveni defended payment of the controversial Shs6b bonus to 42 government officials for their role in the oil tax dispute which Uganda won in a London arbitration court. He said he authorised the payment.
He argued that considering the Shs1.5 trillion the officials saved, giving them Shs6b would not be bad. He added that besides, this was not the first time he was granting such a bonus and then told the MPs to stop “maligning” such officials and reminded them they are not the first or the last Parliament.

The President’s remarks come in the wake of an imminent investigation into the legality of the Shs6b bonus and the transparency in the sharing, especially following information that some ineligible beneficiaries were included on the list while some rightful claimants were left out.
Parliament, which had been suspended indefinitely by the Speaker over a week ago until the interim court order stopping the MPs’ inquiry into the money has been waived, has now resumed business.

It is not clear whether Parliament will proceed with the inquiry and if it does, how MPs will handle the issue given the President’s remarks.
The President may have the discretion to grant such bonuses but it’s prudent for Parliament, under its oversight mandate, to inquire into such matters to establish whether such a decision was taken and implemented legally.
Parliament must establish the eligibility of the beneficiaries and transparency in the distribution of the money to establish whether the amount each received matched the roles they played in the oil case.

The President making a good decision does not mean the implementers cannot not hijack or abuse it. In 1997 the President agreed to the purchase of military helicopters to fight insurgency in the north. Good decision. But it was abused by government officials who messed up the transaction and bought defective aircraft. The country lost more than Shs10b in inflated costs and bribes. In another case when the President directed that businessman Hassan Basajjabalaba be compensated for loss of business after government repossessed city markets from him, the officials manipulated the decision and inflated the compensation amount.
In light of these developments, Parliament should not be deterred by the President’s comments, but proceed and inquire into the legality and transparency of the oil bonus payments.