By Francis Lubega
10th Aug 2023
The Vice Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Commission Statutory Authorities and State Enterprise (COSASE) Lucy Akello has summoned counsel Patrick Kiconco Katabazi of Pathways Advocates to appear before the committee next week on Tuesday without fail.
Counsel Kiconco was expected to appear on Thursday before the committee but instead sent his fellow advocate counsel Asiimwe Mugumya whom the committee rejected.
Lawyer Kiconco is being accused of receiving Sh39 Billion meant to pay off tea seedling growing farmers from National Agricultural Advisory Services-NAADs.
According to the Auditor General’s report of 2021/2022, NAADs advanced Sh39bn shillings to Kiconco’s law firm to pay off tea farmers who had sued the government for having not bought their tea seedling thus incurring losses which was later settled out of courts for the government to compensate them.
However, some farmers claim not to have received their payments from Counsel Kiconco whom they had hired to demand the government on their behalf.
Now the committee has ruled that the lawyer appears on Tuesday next week with details entailing all beneficiaries of the Sh39bn with their names, bank accounts, and amount paid to each, NIN numbers of National IDs, and the regions they grow tea seedlings from.
Meanwhile, the same committee has been shocked by the expenditure of Sh3.4bn by NAADs on travels as per the audit query of the same financial year.
The audit also revealed that NAADs spent Sh408m on allowances, Sh332m on fuel and Sh441m on maintenance of vehicles.
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