The duo is accused of defying a presidential directive to compensate the former employees who lost their jobs upon the privatization of coffee marketing board claiming that they had already been compensated.
The legal and parliamentary affairs committee has resolved to summon Syda Bumba, the former finance minister and former Attorney General Khiddu Makubuya to explain their role in the compensation of former workers of Coffee Marketing Board-CMB. The duo is accused of defying a presidential directive to compensate the former employees who lost their jobs upon the privatization of coffee marketing board claiming that they had already been compensated.
While appearing before the committee last years, officials from the ministry of finance and privatization unit claimed that they had compensated about 5000 former workers of the board. However, the auditor general’s office disputed the figure saying the ministry couldn't have compensated 5000 workers because they were only 1800. As a result, the committee resolved to summon the former ministers to explain the discrepancies in the number of people compensated.
Chrispus Ayena, the Oyam North MP argued that it would be unfair for the committee to pass judgment in their report without listening to the people who were in office when the compensation was effected.
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Stephen Tashobya, the committee says that in addition to the two ministers, they will also invite Billy Kainamura, the former solicitor general over the matter. Bumba and Makubuya were forced to resign from cabinet in 2011 over their role in the hefty compensation of city businessman Hassan Basajabalaba. The former CMB workers say they are demanding for 11.6 billion shillings.
The workers say the verified fee was initially 18 billion shillings but they were only given 5.4 billion leaving a balance of 11.6. But Bemanya Twebaze, the registrar Uganda Registration services Bureau which is the liquidator, argues that the former workers are claiming for too much money. He says once they are paid this sum of money it will create a bad precedent for future compensations.
Agather Atuhaire
Freelancer
