Cosase gives Kasaija Tuesday ultimatum

The Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (Cosase) has issued an ultimatum of Tuesday next week for Finance minister Matia Kasaija to give it audience.

Mr Joel Ssenyonyi, the committee chairperson, informed the members on Thursday that Mr Kasaija snubbed them having initially agreed to an interface.

The minister was originally supposed to face the committee two weeks ago.

“The minister of Finance is an important person in this country, but he is not above the law. This is committee of Parliament and ours is the oversight role and the minister of Finance reports to us as Parliament because we appropriate the money that he uses,” Mr Ssenyonyi reasoned, adding,” So when Parliament says come and explain to us the money we have appropriated and you have not showed up, we view it as contempt of Parliament.”

Minister  Kasaija was supposed to appear before the committee to explain his role in originating a supplementary budget of Shs10.6b to Uganda Land Commission to pay six claimants who reportedly sold land to the government.

 The supplementary budget has since taken centre stage during the ongoing Cosase probe into the operations of the Commission.

Both the Commission and the former Lands minister, Beti Kamya—who the Commission had accused of originating the request—have since denied responsibility. Fingers were duly pointed at the Finance ministry.

This is not the first time Mr Kasaija has had run-ins with parliamentary committees. During the probe into the contentious coffee deal he signed with the Uganda Vince Coffee Company, the minister snubbed the Trade, Tourism and Industry committee invitations several times.

It was not until the committee threatened to put him on notice for contempt of Parliament that he finally appeared.

Cosase’s patience with Mr Kasaija now appears to be wearing thin, with Mr Ssenyonyi saying they “have now gone past the level of invitation.”

He added: “We never really wanted to get to this point. If the minister of Finance does not honour the summons next Tuesday, we shall then issue a warrant of arrest against him.”

He said Mr Kasaija was supposed to explain how the Shs10.6b budget originated and why claimants only total six.

Mr Pius Wakabi, the Bugahya County Member of Parliament informed the House that he had talked to Mr Kasaija who informed him that he (the minister) was in Accra, Ghana for a continental conference. In a Thursday tweet, the minister confirmed that he was attending an Africa Development Bank conference in the Ghanaian capital.

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