The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
To verify or not
Faced with the accusations of corruption and many contradicting compensation claims, the Secretary to the Treasury, Keith Muhakanizi who must authorise the payment, is demanding verification.
He is specifically pushing for Ernst and Young; the international accounting firm, to verify claims. But his insistence is opposed by almost everyone, including Minister of State for Finance David Bahati, some of the traders and MPs.
When The Independent asked Muhakanizi why he is insistent on Ernst and Young doing the verification when a select parliamentary committee formed on March 6 had verified the claims of traders, he said “they did a good job on verification of domestic arrears”.
But some MPs and the Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, say the Ministry of Finance should not be insisting on re-verification of compensation claimants when, in their view, this exercise was considered closed after a joint committee of parliament and officials from the government of South Sudan carried out verification.
In a plenary session, Kadaga asked Minister Bahati: “How long are Ugandans going to suffer because of our inefficiency and corruption? When shall they be paid,” Kadaga asked in a recent plenary session.
She said parliament budgeted for the compensation money based on the verification it did.
“So what is he looking for?” she asked Bahati, “We cannot go on like this.”
Kadaga was at the time referring to Muhakanizi’s deputy, Patrick Ocailap, who put out an advert in the newspapers announcing verification of traders’ claims when Muhakanizi was on sick leave early this year.
Kadaga insisted on the traders being paid as soon as possible because parliament appropriated Shs76 billion but it has proved difficult to get it from the coffers of the Ministry of Finance.
But Bahati has been accused of pursuing personal interest. He reportedly has three companies; Kaimat Enterprises, Jan Jang Company Limited, Nile Site Company seeking compensation from South Sudan. On March 23 he was asked by the parliament’s Select Committee handling the compensation to refute the allegation but he did not.
“Even if I owned a company in South Sudan, I wouldn’t accept to be part of the on-going compensation process,” he told the committee, “So I would really request madam chair that those who are crying for me should leave me.”
Rashid Manafwa, the chairman of the Joint Action Redemption group says the contentious issue of verification started when Amelia Kyambadde, Minister of Trade, commissioned a Trade Arbitration Dispute Committee in August 2011. The seven member team was headed by businessman Omar Kassim who passed on in 2017.
Then the committee received 84 claims and according to some minutes seen by The Independent, the claims had clear documentation in form of contracts and other relevant support documents. But from the time of the Kassim committee, the traders have dealt with roadblock after roadblock.
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There are traders who lost every thing they had and the little they where left with, all when for follow up expenses and yet their names are still missing or alternated like OGIK PATRICK which seems to appear as EMANUEL OGIK. IF SUCH mistakes keeps on, then what is the verification all about?
Brother Akena, the other think you need to consider is the fact that when it comes to money issue even a cocroach can claim to be a victim who needs compansation for no lost incurred as we all knows that cocroches only destroyes clothes and other items at homes but have nothing as belongings. God be with you.
I am sorry to say that our government alway try to fulfil there promise with other countries but not care for his people which is spread world wide. and with out accountability making duty agreement with fake company and loosing billions but not care about his people. what kind people are you which plannet are coming from .you can see you people suffering in all over world and you still talking we rich we have oil we have a lot of mining we!!!!!!!!!!!! where your coming from?
This is a very sad news to South Sudanese. They’re dying of hunger, diseases and poverty but the so called Government of people still have the heart of stealing in different ways from the suffering people.Do the government has humanity really??
. Most of the companies are gost companies and belonging to Kiir and his people. Kiir’s corruption is beyond narrating. Honestly which heart do leaders have in South Sudan. Every Sunday they are in churches , why do they go to church if they don’t have heart of humanity.