Trade minister Francis Mwebesa has complained that he is spending hours in traffic jam after surrendering his official car for the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and G77+China summits that will take place in Kampala this month.

“I want to apologize that I came late, but with these renovations going on for NAM, unfortunately, our cars [which] used to facilitate us to go through the traffic very quickly [were taken]. But finally, I am here,” he told the parliamentary committee on trade on Wednesday.

Last December, the government started withdrawing vehicles from its officials, including ministers and permanent secretaries, to be used in transporting delegates to and from venues for the two conferences.

The NAM summit will run from January 15 to 20 at Munyonyo Commonwealth Resort Hotel in Kampala and will be followed by G77+China from January 20 to 23.

After his apology to the committee, Mwebesa and his technical team were chased away from the committee chaired by the Mbarara South MP, Mwine Mpaka.

It was not for coming late.

“Yes, he apologized, but we sent them away because their accounting officer (Geraldine Ssali) was found on two occasions in our investigations involved in abuse of office and she has not appropriated the resources we gave them well," Mpaka later told New Vision after the session.

"So, we told them we have no budget for the ministry of trade and sent them away."

The committee pinned Ssali for irregularly utilizing sh5 billion supplementary budget that the trade ministry received in the 2021/22 financial year which was meant for renting a new facility.

And on August 31, 2023, Parliament recommended that Ssali be interdicted and prosecuted for reportedly inflating the cost for renovation and rent of Farmers’ House.

She was dropped on October 3, 2023, by the permanent secretary of the finance ministry and secretary to the treasury, Ramathan Ggoobi.

However, that same month, President Yoweri Museveni ordered for the immediate reinstatement of Ssali in a directive that was communicated by the head of Public Service, Lucy Nakyobe.