IGG orders Serena Hotel to refund sh4b

Aug 12, 2011

THE Inspector General of Government (IGG) has ordered Serena Hotel Kampala and J&M airport road Hotel Bwebajja to refund sh4b that was given to them during the preparations for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 2007.

By Mary Karugaba

THE Inspector General of Government (IGG) has ordered Serena Hotel Kampala and J&M airport road Hotel Bwebajja to refund sh4b that was given to them during the preparations for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 2007.

According to the acting IGG Raphael Baku, Government gave Serena Hotel sh1.8b and sh2.2b to J&M airport road Hotel to prepare for the summit. The two hotels never signed any agreement with Government on repayment procedures.

“During our investigations, we discovered that the money was not paid back. There was no agreement for repayment.We have asked them to refund it,” Baku told MPs this morning.

He was appearing before the Legal and Parliamentary Committee to defend the Inspectorate’s Budget estimates for the financial year 2011/12.

Baku told MPs that the Ministry of Finance and the two Hotels have already agreed on modalities of repayments.

“Serena Hotel has even signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Finance pledging to refund the money. The widow of the proprietor of J&M Hotel has also agreed to refund,” he said.

On November 15, 2007, just three days to the summit, the Government gave the proprietor of J&M hotel late Joseph Behakanira about sh2.4b to complete 200 rooms. The Hotel was not on the list of the CHOGM Hotels. During parliamentary hearings of CHOGM cases, it was discovered that no CHOGM visitor slept at the Hotel.

The late Behakanira told the Public Accounts MPs probing CHOGM fund mismanagement then that the money was taken on agreement that it would be turned into Government shares.

During the meeting, the MPs accused Baku of selectively prosecuting CHOGM culprits. They demanded to know why he exonerated Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi and the then State Minister of Local Government Hope Mwesigye yet they were all implicated by both the Auditor General and the Public Accounts Committee.

“You are selectively prosecuting people. In some cases, you are investigating problems and in others you are going in for individuals. Where you suspect there is conflict of interest, you investigate a problem. These are grey areas you should take into account,” MP Krispus Ayena said.

MPs Wilfred Nuwagaba and Abdul Katuntu warned that if the IGG does not change the strategy, he will be accused of being bias.

Baku denied favoring Mbabazi and Mwesigye saying he investigated them and found that they had no case to answer.

“Having closely worked with Mbabazi in the past does not mean that he influenced my decisions. I have taken oath to follow the law. The fear is unfounded,” Baku said.

He emphasized that he exonerated the two because investigations found that they had no case to answer unlike Vice President Gilbert Bukenya.

The IGG and his team were however sent back after the committee discovered that the ministry of finance allocated more funds to the IGG than he had requested.

For example according to the budget figures presented, over 30 activities were given more monies that they had requested for.

“I have never seen this. The IGG requested for sh170m for vehicle maintenance but finance gave them sh270,” Katuntu said.

The IGG said the figures were as a result of realigning after Finance rejected their budget saying it was to much.



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