Protection of people implicated in corruption is a recipe for disaster

Over the weekend, the President directed the Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Finance to reinstate the embattled Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, Ms Geraldine Salli Busulwa, as the accounting officer of the ministry.

The said Ssali was stripped of the mandate of an accounting officer by the Secretary to the Treasury following a recommendation by Parliament over accountability-related issues.

The Committee on  Tourism, Trade,  Industry and Cooperatives where I am a member discovered that Geraldine Ssali was involved in a number of fraudulent transactions which included spending Shs400 million to transport documents from Kampala to Entebbe, renovation of the ministry offices at Shs6b instead of Shs3b, buying of vehicles for ministry officials at exorbitant prices, among others. She was also accused of abuse of office where she overturned many decisions of the ministry management without consulting anyone.

It’s against this gross misconduct that the committee recommended her removal from being the accounting officer, a recommendation that was adopted by Parliament. However, as parliamentarians, we were shocked, tongue-tied, and perplexed  to hear that the President ordered the reinstatement of the same person to office, an act that tantamounts to undermining the institution of Parliament.

Parliament has a constitutional mandate to check the Executive, and this should be taken in good faith. But when the President keeps overturning or disobeying recommendations and resolutions of Parliament, then it defeats the logic of checks and balances among the various arms of government, separation of powers, and independence of the arms of government.

If this was happening for the first time, it would be excusable, but it has been the norm for the president to vigorously defend specific individuals whenever they find themselves in controversy.

The President in 2022 defended an Italian so-called investor Erica Pinneti over the controversial coffee agreement in which this woman was being given a monopoly over Uganda’s coffee industry despite having no experience in the coffee industry. The same Pinneti was in 2020, given close to Shs400b to construct a specialised hospital in Lubowa, and to date, nothing has been done. Surprisingly, when the Parliament cancelled the agreement, the President was bitter and asked MPs to stop tempering with his so-called investor!

In the same year, President Museveni defended the Minister for Science and Technology, Dr Monica Musenero, when she was tasked to account for the Shs30b that she was given to set up a factory for Covid-19 vaccines. To date, there is no such a factory and no accountability for the money. And when the MPs attempted to censure the said minister, the President warned them against talking about his “Generals”.

In 2023, Parliament censured Minister Persis Namuganza for misconduct and her role in the giveaway of Naguru - Nakawa estate land, but the President up to now has never taken any action.

This year, 2023, the Parliament recommended the resignation of Minister for Gender, Labour and Social Development, Beti Among, over the mismanagement of the National Social Security Fund and demanding Shs5 billion from the management, among others. The President did not take any action, and to date, Amongi is still a minister.

In the 2022/23 financial year, Parliament refused to pass Shs274b for Atiak sugar, owned by Aminan Hersi, however the government on orders of the President went ahead and spent the said money in a supplementary expenditure without Parliament approval.

With all these incidents, the President has undermined Parliament in favour of some people, and this has led to the loss of taxpayers’ money.

With all this impunity, Ugandans are asking themselves whether Parliaments can still play its oversight role. 

Ms Francis Mwijukye, MP Buhweju, Member of Trade & Industry Committee, Shadow Minister for Trade & Industry.