By Taddeo Bwambale

State minister for tourism Serapio Rukundo has denied that he fronted J&M Hotel from Bwebajja to receive 2.7b during the preparations for the Commonwealth summit (CHOGM) in 2007.

According to the Auditor General’s report, J&M Hotel received the money two days to the summit, yet none of the delegates slept there because it was incomplete.

Appearing before the public accounts committee of Parliament on Thursday, Grace Mbabazi, the commissioner for tourism, said it was Rukundo who directed the inclusion of the hotel.

Rukundo said he only recommended the hotel for a loan from Barclays Bank or Uganda Development Bank.

He said he wrote a letter to the then Minister of Finance, Ezra Suruma, recommending the hotel for a loan of $3m.

“The allegations that I fronted J&M hotel are not true. I had no hand in what went on. People want to brand everybody as corrupt, but I had nothing to do with the allocation of hotels prior to CHOGM,” he said.

Rukundo says he received a request from the proprietors of the hotel.

He says he went to inspect the hotel site with a staff member, Rose Kobutangi, and found the request of the hotel worthwhile.

However, he denies having gone to the site with ministers Jachan Omach and Isaac Musumba.

Rukundo says no inspection report was produced because it was not necessary, since the hotel owners would be required to provide collateral before getting the money.

He also denied he lobbied for the hotel at State House.

“I had nothing to do with State House and I did not smuggle in the hotel. I have never met the President over the matter,” he said.

The minister says if J&M had been given the money earlier, the hotel would have been completed by November 2007 and ready for CHOGM. Rukundo blames the mishaps during CHOGM on planning in a hurry.