President Museveni on Tuesday said he okayed the Shs10b project to support small businesses ahead of the 2011 election, but insisted that public officials named in an inquiry into the initiative should explain themselves.
The President was attending the ruling party’s House caucus where he initially said he had come to lobby MPs to support his government’s request of $567.7 million (more than Shs1.6 trillion) for the proposed construction of 183 MW Isimba Hydropower project and the Isimba-Bujagali Interconnection project from the Chinese government.
He later wondered why the Public Accounts Committee mentioned his name in a report on the matter, now up for debate without seeking his side of the story.
“The ministers involved should be able to explain what exactly happened because I believe the money went to noble causes,” NRM MPs, who requested not to be named because NRM caucus meetings are normally held behind closed-doors, quoted the President.
PAC vice chairperson Paul Mwiru yesterday said the President’s name came up because the committee had documentary evidence.
Not recommended
Mr Mwiru said the committee did not hear Mr Museveni’s side of the story because there was no recommendation against him.“We acted within our mandate, and in the report, there are areas where we recommended further investigations by the IGG and CIID,” Mr Mwiru said. The Presidential Initiative on Market Vendors and other Small Business Operators was intended to create a revolving fund through which small business owners could access working capital.
However, PAC found that the money was instead abused by politicians and bureaucrats. By press time, the daylong caucus meeting was reported to be divided over how to proceed when the report comes on the floor.
Some members were of the view that ministers and government officials implicated carry their crosses.
Others reportedly insisted that the ministers and public officials should be defended on the principle of collective responsibility.
Sources told Daily Monitor that while former Finance minister Syda Bbumba said everything she did was backed by documentary evidence and within the law, in-coming Government Chief Whip Ruth Nankabirwa apologised for allegedly interfering in the procurement processes.