MPs Oppose BOU On UCB

Feb 16, 2001

MEMBERS of Parliament have demanded that Bank of Uganda (BOU) should not handle the sale of the Uganda Commercial Bank (UCB), reports Richard Mutumba.

MEMBERS of Parliament have demanded that Bank of Uganda (BOU) should not handle the sale of the Uganda Commercial Bank (UCB), reports Richard Mutumba. The committee on the national economy, chaired by Isaac Musumba (Buzaya), had said the Privatisation Unit must be involved in the sale of the bank to make the process transparent. The Government recently agreed that BOU should go ahead and sell UCB, according to the BOU Governor, Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile. The Central Bank has been managing UCB since its ownership reverted to the Government, which won back its 49% shareholding in UCBL from Westmont in a decision made in London last November by arbiter Stewart Boyd QC. UCBL's shareholding was under contest because Westmont flouted a privatisation agreement and transferred its 49% shares illegally to now defunct Greenland Bank. The Government had accused Westmont of violating the 1997 management contract by entering into a secret agreement with Greenland. Musumba said Parliament was opposed to the method the Government planned to sell UCB. "Why should the Bank of Uganda be the one to sell and not the Privatisation Unit?" he asked. He said in order to ensure transparency, the Privatisation Unit should undertake the sale and not BOU whose operations were hard to challenge since it is autonomous. Mutebile said 11 renowned international banks had been short-listed as possible buyers of the bank. It is still not known what proportion of the bank will be sold, though some shares would be held in trust to be sold to the public. Ends

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