MPs task government on EC ballot printing saga

The Minister of Justice, Prof Ephraim Kamuntu, is expected to appear before Parliament today to explain the sacking of eight officials at the Electoral Commission (EC) and the disputed procurement of materials to be used in the 2021 General Election.

Ruling on a procedural matter raised by Kira Municipality MP Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga directed the clerk to put the matter on the order paper for the minister to explain what is going on in the EC.

“I will ask the clerk to put this matter on the Order Paper so that the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General come here and explain” Ms Kadaga ruled.

Mr Ssemujju, who last month raised the same matter, wondered why the government has not come out to explain to the allegations that President Museveni, who is expected to seek re-election next year, had interfered with the EC procurement process for ballot printing.

“Last month, I raised here a matter of printing materials for the elections of next year. I did mention that one of the candidates has taken over from the EC and hired Veridos, a Germany company, to print ballot papers” he said.

Mr Ssemujju, who is also the spokesperson of the Opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), said it is unfair that some officials from EC have been sacked under unclear circumstances, leaving the issues concerning hiring of Veridos in the hands of Mr Museveni.

“I come from a party that is preparing to participate in the elections. We have read in the newspapers that senior officials of the Electoral Commission have been fired because they cancelled a deal by one of the candidates. He is actually a sole candidate,” he added.

Yesterday, Daily Monitor reported about eight senior EC officials who have been fired amid an ongoing investigation into accusations of corruption.
Notable among the dismissed officials is Mr Sam Rwakoojo, the secretary to the Commission.

Trouble started after EC officials rejected a ballot printing bid from a German firm, Veridos Identity Solutions GMBH. In 2016, the German firm signed a joint venture with Uganda Printing & Publishing Corporation (UPPC) to print money and handle other security printing deals.

Sources close to State House said Mr Rwakoojo and team were asked to give the ballot printing deal to UPPC and in the process of verification, they discovered Veridos has a big stake in the company and the same German firm had won a bid to transmit the poll results.

The EC officials then wrote back to Veridos asking for details of ownership and expenditures of the company. In the process, President Museveni also reportedly wrote to EC that the company has a bigger reputation beyond printing ballot papers, and is tasked with printing the national currency, passports.

The procurement team then evaluated the bid and rejected it. The matter later went to the State House Anti-Corruption Unit and IGG, with the EC officials accused of corruption.

Sacked officials
Other sacked EC officials include Joseph Lwanga (Finance & Administration), Godfrey Wanyoto (procurement); Jotham Taremwa (public relations); Namugera Pontius (IT), Jordan Lubega (networks), and Mr Musuza Charles and Edgar Kasigwa (data specialists).