Mutebile’s memorable quotes

On compensating businessman Basajjabalaba. 

“I can assure you that I am here for the longest haul. There’s nothing that can take me out of this seat except God. Therefore, the markets shouldn’t worry about the rumblings in Parliament. Tell the markets to remain calm.’’  BoU governor said in 2012 after Public Accounts Committee indicted him over the role he played in the payment of more than Shs142 billion to Hassan Basajjabalaba as compensation for loss of business when his concessions to run some city markets were withdrawn.

On oil money

“I will ensure that oil money is spent on agriculture and infrastructure and not consumption,” Mutebile said in 2010.

On printing money for 2016 General Election

“Fiscal deficits which are financed by the central bank through the printing of money are much more inflationary than those financed by borrowing from the market as the latter leaves the money supply unchanged.While I have little doubt that inflationary pressures are likely to mount over the next two years, I hope to convince you that we have the macroeconomic framework and the monetary policy tools to manage these pressures and to hold inflation in check,” Mutebile spoke about the central bank’s ability to keep inflationary pressures at bay in November 2014. Mutebile said printing money at such a time would fuel inflation such as the one that hit the economy after the 2011 election.

On Crane Bank sale

“I want to refute in the strongest terms possible that the “sale” of Crane Bank to dfcu was in some ways suspicious or scandalous. Infact, Crane Bank was not sold to dfcu. A sale was not possible. It has been alleged that Crane Bank was sold by BoU for a fraction of the value of its assets, ignoring the fact that the bank has liabilities such as deposits, as well as assets. When Crane Bank was dissolved by BoU, the value of assets was much less than the value of its liabilities,” Mutebile told a dinner in April 2018. Central Bank was in the eye of the storm when it closed Crane Bank, one of the largest commercial banks in the country, and later sold it to dfcu.

On the extra money printing saga of Shs90 billion

“We ordered for 20 pellets if I am to say but what was brought on the Chartered Cargo Plane were 25 pellets. We want to know where the extra five pallets came from, to whom were they going and for which purpose. This is an investigation I am still waiting for and of which, I have not been updated yet,” said Mutebile in June 2019.

On why local banks fail in Uganda’s banking industry

“It is not necessarily correct that it is local banks that have to fail. The banks that failed did not fail because they were local but rather because they were either grossly undercapitalised, exhibited glaring corporate governance weaknesses and or were insolvent and had to be closed.  While the majority of the banks were local like Teefe, Greenland Bank Limited, The Cooperative Bank Ltd, the National Bank of Commerce, Crane Bank Ltd; Global Trust Bank Ltd was foreign licensed subsidiary of parent bank based in Nigeria. Nonetheless, banks with international presence when contrasted with their local counterparts that were closed in the late 1990s, the former exhibited well-developed entrenched corporate governance structures, and corporate governance practices and had deep pockets making them better placed to inject in capital,’’ Mutebile said during an interview with Daily Monitor in 2019.

On mitigating Covid-19

“It is difficult to predict the extent and severity of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. In order to limit the impact of the coronavirus on the stability and economic growth, Bank of Uganda will provide exceptional liquidity assistance for a period of up to one year to financial institutions supervised by BoU that may require it. BoU will waive the limitation on the restructuring of credit facilities at financial institutions that may be at risk of going into distress due to the coronavirus pandemic,’’ Mutebile said in 2020.

COMPILED BY LYDIA NAMONO WESONGA