MPs probe Shs480b ‘forced’ on BoU in 2021/22 budget

Mr Atingi-Ego informed the Budget Committee that the bank did not make such a request in their submission to finance.  

“You must recall that in 2018/2019 the capital of Bank of Uganda was impaired by Shs481b and it was at that time when a request was made to the Ministry of Finance for recapitalisation and indeed we got that recapitalisation in early July 2020,” Mr Atingi-Ego said.

He added: “More recently in 2020/2021, the accounts of Bank of Uganda were audited and the big picture is that Bank of Uganda made a modest profit of Shs40b and as such, Bank of Uganda is not requesting for any recapitalisation because the capital is not needed. There is no basis for requesting for recapitalisation.”  

The deputy governor, who was in Parliament yesterday to shed light on what some committee members had called “fraudulent allocation”, explained that the procedure for recapitalisation is that once the audited accounts for any financial year are finalised, then the level of recapitalisation is determined whether the capital is impaired or not.
 
He added that: “Should the (BoU) capital be impaired, it is only at such a point when BoU requests the Ministry of Finance to present to Parliament a request for recapitalisation is made.”  
Mr Atingi-Ego’s revelation infuriated the lawmakers led by deputy committee chairperson Patrick Isiagi (Kachumbala, NRM)  and many of them were overheard demanding to know who could have ‘smuggled’ the money for capitalization in the budget without the knowledge of the authorities in BoU.

MPs furious
Mr Muwanga Kivumbi, the Butambala County MP, accused government officials in the Ministry of Finance of using “fraudulent means to sneak unwanted money into the budget for their own benefit.”

 “Since BoU has said they do not need it, who in the Ministry of Finance was lying to get hands on this money to go and erect arcades we see in the city using our money? This is fraud and corruption of highest order,” Mr Kivumbi said.

He added: “Whoever sneaked this money into the budget thought that we could not catch them because we were busy in campaigns and elections but we have caught them pants down. We cannot allow this theft.”  
Trouble started on Monday when Finance Committee chairman Henry Musasizi (Rubanda East, NRM) raised suspicion that the government was allegedly tapping funds requested for the recapitalisation of the Central Bank.
He said it was impossible that BoU could ask for the same amount of money Parliament approved in the last financial year and for something that is not on recurrent expenditure.

 Mr Kivumbi and other lawmakers demanded that the Finance Minister Matia Kasaija appear before the committee to explain what they called “a plan to tinker with public funds”.
The lawmakers explained that the Bank of Uganda is an autonomous body that should always appear before Parliament to ask for money instead of going through the Ministry of Finance that is telling lies.

Kasaija responds
Mr Kasaija appeared yesterday but failed to convince members on Shs481b saga. He was also expected to respond to queries on the Shs165b for members’ vehicles, compensation for people who lost their cattle in Teso and Lango sub-regions, additional funds for petroleum authority, among other, sticking issues in the budget.
The minister said the allocation for capitalisation of BoU even after Parliament approved the same funds in the 2018/2019 financial year “was just a proposal not final.”

“The proposed allocation of Shs481b to BoU was a forecast in the budget for FY 2021/2022, pending the completion of the audit of the bank by the Auditor General in September 2021.This transaction entail issuance of securities to Bank of Uganda to undertake its monetary policy responsibilities,” Mr Kasaija said.

 By press time last evening, the committee members hadn’t convened to evaluate ministers response to the BoU revelation that they didn’t request for the funds. The committee is expected to table its report to Parliament this week when plenary resumes to consider the 2021/21 Financial Year budget.  

Seminars and workshops
During the same committee meeting, MPs rejected money for workshops and seminars under Office of the President and Office of the Prime Minister, citing the Covid-19 pandemic.

The MPs rejected and OPM allocations for workshops and seminars after the chairperson of Presidential Affairs Committee of Parliament, Ms Jessica Ababiku requested the Budget Committee to approve Shs105b for workshops and seminars under the Office of the President and Shs3.97b for the Office of the Prime Minister.  

Mr Kasaija advised government agencies to adopt digital systems of holding workshops than going to hotels.
The committee also rejected Shs1.3b request for monitoring Cabinet decisions, and other non-productive activities under State House budget for 2021/22 Financial Year.

In the 2021/22 Financial Year, State House needs more than Shs400b to look after the President and the Vice President.

 
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