Bank of Uganda headquarters in Kampala. PHOTO/ FILE
Parliament tasked the Ministry of Finance Planning and Economic Development, which supervises the Bank of Uganda, on November 28 to explain circumstances under which billions of shillings of taxpayer money was stolen.
The government had until yesterday, circumvented the matter since it first came to light on Tuesday. The BoU is yet to issue a statement on the matter despite promising to do so on Tuesday night.
During yesterday’s parliamentary sitting, however, the Leader of Opposition in Parliament, Mr Joel Ssenyonyi, tasked the Finance officials to give Ugandans an explanation.
“I have even seen media reports about this, and it affects us in every sense. I thought the government through the ministry of Finance should help us understand because you supervise the operations of the Bank of Uganda. It’s important that we know what is happening at the Central Bank. If monies are being siphoned whether by hackers or staff of Bank of Uganda, it should worry all of us,” he said.
In response, Junior Finance Minister Henry Musasizi said: “I wish to state that it is true [that] our accounts were hacked into but not to the extent of what is being reported. When this happened, we instituted an audit and at the same time an investigation. The Auditor General is doing the audit and CID [Criminal Investigations Department of the police] at the same time is doing an investigation.”
He, however, declined to give the exact amount that was lost and maintained the loss was a result of hacking by persons he also did not name.
“I wish to seek the indulgence of this House that we be patient when the audit is finalised... and also CID finalises its investigations, I will come to this House and report. Otherwise as of now, any matter that I disclose on this issue will risk misrepresentation of facts. All these processes will be concluded within one month and I will report back to the House,” the minister explained.
On Tuesday, this newspaper broke the story of the loss of billions of shillings from the bank. Sources said $13 million (Shs47.8 billion) was taken out from the bank in August following forged expenditures.
Mr Ssenyonyi said the heist creates doubt on the integrity of the country's monetary system.
“It alarmed me because this is our Central Bank. In the last couple of months, nearly every two months you will hear a heist at a commercial bank. Commercial banks are privately owned and it bothers but when it comes to the Central Bank, it is more problematic,” he said.
Mr Ssenyonyi added: “I want to appreciate the minister [because] rarely do they concede to some of these....but that clarity should have come because if he is saying that these figures are wrong, what are the correct figures? When the network firewalls of the Central Bank are penetrated, it is something that worries all of us.”
The Kira Municipality MP, and shadow minister for Finance, Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, accused the government of keeping the public in the dark on a matter that directly impacts them.
“A responsible government doesn’t stand up in Parliament and say we are investigating, we will not tell you anything. By saying you are going to investigate, you are going to carry out an audit, you have admitted that you don’t know,” Mr Nganda said.
Speaker of Parliament Anita Among, who chaired the sitting said the House would debate the matter once investigations are complete. “Let’s wait for the investigations... . Issues of money are issues of security,” she said.
