The Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) has suspended its inquiry into a disputed Shs140.487 billion Bank of Uganda (BoU) financing arrangement involving Haba Group after Finance Minister Henry Musasizi failed to appear before the committee.
The committee, chaired by Kyadondo East MP Muwada Nkunyingi, had summoned Musasizi alongside BoU Governor Dr Michael Atingi-Ego and officials from Haba Group to clarify the government’s role in the 2017 arrangement.
COSASE adjourned the proceedings until Tuesday next week after members failed to establish why Musasizi, who had requested to appear on Thursday, did not attend.
Nkunyingi said the minister’s appearance was important because BoU had previously told the committee that the guarantee or comfort arrangement extended to Haba Group was issued on instructions from the Ministry of Finance.
According to records from the Auditor General, Shs140.487 billion remains unsettled by Haba Group to BoU.
The committee initially suspended the hearing for 30 minutes and sent CID officers attached to Parliament to the Ministry of Finance to establish the minister’s whereabouts.
Detective Fredrick Chemonges later told the committee that the officers found Under-Secretary Edward Sengonzi Damulira, who said Musasizi had arrived at the ministry earlier but was engaged in activities outside Kampala. Chemonges also said other ministers at the ministry were away.
According to previous testimony by BoU officials before COSASE, the commercial bank involved in the arrangement later recovered the money from BoU, leaving the central bank seeking to recover the funds from Haba Group.
However, Haba Group chairman Hassan Basajjabalaba gave a different account when he appeared before the committee recently.
Basajjabalaba disputed the Shs140.487 billion liability, saying Haba Group did not receive the full amount. He instead put the group’s broader claim at Shs168.8 billion.
The conflicting figures have prompted COSASE to seek documentary evidence from Haba Group, BoU and the Ministry of Finance before determining the actual financial position.
Following Musasizi’s absence, Busia Municipality MP Ismail Sowedi Mulemya proposed that the committee consider initiating a censure process against the minister, describing his failure to appear as disobedience of the committee.
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