COSASE faults UNBS ED for diverting UGX 12.5Bn

By Francis Lubega

18^th July 2023

The Executive Director of Uganda National Bureau of Standards UNBS David Livingstone Ebiru has accused his boss Charles Musekuura the National Standards Council Chairperson for spying on him and the institution.

Ebiru’s concern pertained to how Musekuura who is the had obtained documents sensitive to the operation of the bureau.

Musekuura had told Members of Parliament that the bureau was full of corrupt inspections officers through whom several wavers are given to the entrance of unverified substandard products.

Musekuura has further accused the UNBS ED Ebiru for bagging close to 9bn shillings from scrupulous deals of giving waivers to certain traders or individuals.

The Parliament’s Committee on Public Accounts – Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) chaired by Nakawa west MP Joel Ssenyonyi also discovered that UNBS executive director David Livingstone Ebiru over spent 12.5 billion shillings at the source without Parliament approval.

However Ebiru defended himself saying his action was after the ministry of Finance cutting the UNBS budget by 37% yet the Bureau had to meet Staff obligations, pay for operating activities, board allowances, enforcement activities, and travel alliances for meetings of international organizations.

The committee discovered other fund diversions by the ED Ebiru which he failed to account for forcing the chairperson of the committee to hand him to the parliamentary police CID for further interrogations.