Mutebile: Museveni meets PAC committee today

By Mary Karugaba  
     
President Yoweri Museveni today (Friday) meets members of the Public Accounts Committee over Bank of Uganda Governor Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile fate.

This after the National Resistance Movement caucus on Thursday failed to agree over the matter.

Sources who received the communication from the NRM party secretariat, confirmed that they had been invited and are scheduled to meet the President today (Friday) at State House Entebbe at 10am.

The invitation comes a day after the NRM caucus on Thursday failed to agree on Mutebile whether to support the executive's position to exonerate Mutebile in the Hassan Bassajjabala compensation saga.

MPs New Vision spoke to said they would not accept to be swayed and would stick to the PAC committee's recommendation that Mutebile be personally held liable for his commissions and omissions.

"The President has invited us for a meeting over Mutebile issues but we are not going to change. Our position is clear," an MP who declined to be named said.

According to sources that attended the Thursday caucus meeting, members demanded from the cabinet subcommittee chairman Crispus Kiyonga to explain why the committee had exonerated Mutebile and let the other ministers Prof. Khiddu Makubuya (General Duties) and Syda Bbumba resign.

A Source said members at first were convinced that Mutebile had no case to answer after Kiyonga's presentation but then changed after some members of the Public accounts committee explained the matter further.  

They argued that they would not be party to the group that would go against the committee's recommendations that Mutebile should be held personally responsible for the mistakes committed.   They said they would recommend to the appointing authority (President) to relieve Mutebile of his duties.

Mutebile is accused of writing "letters of comfort" to four commercial banks that guaranteed Bank of Uganda to repay loan facilities amounting to sh142b to Basajjabalaba's Haba Group of Companies in expectation of his compensation from government. The other ministers have since resigned.

During the meeting, the matter also became more controversial when MPs from Buganda became angry and demanded that Mutebile goes just like the two ministers both of whom come from Buganda. The members reportedly questioned the criteria the cabinet was using to protect "some people and leaving others."

 "Some Baganda thought the cabinet was being tribal and demanded no special attention should be given. Kiyonga tried so hard to defend Mutebile.  He would point out his (Mutebile) mistakes and follow them with strong defense," a source said.

The source added, "When PAC members explained the matter, members became angry and refused to support Kiyonga's position. The caucus reportedly argued that Mutebile should have consulted the board rather than taking the decision personally.

They also accused Mutebile of guaranteeing the payments yet the money was not in the budget.
 "We asked the subcommittee to produce minutes of the board that authorized him to pay. He acted on his own," the source argued.

This reportedly angered some top government ministers. A top government official reportedly demanded that those against the position should get out. "He asked us, if you are not party to this, what you are doing here?" the source said.   Members reportedly shot back and demanded that the minister should not intimidate them.   

During the briefing, Kiyonga reportedly explained to members that the cabinet did not defend Bbumba and Makubuya because they were in wrong.

Kiyonga said Mutebile "was just doing his job" and there is no reason why he should be relieved of his duties.
According to Kiyonga, Bbumba did not advise the President on the matter and when the Ministry's Secretary to Treasury Chris Kassami commissioned an audit, she wrote to the Bank asking them to pay.

Kiyonga earlier told cabinet that Mutebele confessed to haveing written the letters only after getting strong assurance from Finance Minister Syda Bbumba that government owed Basajja money to the tune of sh142b, before writing the letters of comfort to the banks.

He further stated that bbumba gave him assurance that government would pay, further pleading that therer was actual money to leave central bank to Basajja, but only guarantee to commercial banks.

After failing to agree, the meeting was called off reportedly late in the night and would resume on Monday next week.