Mutebile should be sacked, MPs say.

Parliament. A Parliamentary report has recommended the sacking of Bank of Uganda Governor Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile and state minister for Investment Gabriel Ajedra over their roles in the expenditure of public funds.
A new report by the House Committee on Commissions Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises wants the Governor to take personal responsibility for acting outside the law in two incidents involving more than Shs2 trillion given to the Defence ministry to purchase fighter jets, and Shs142.7b in compensation to businessman Hassan Bassajjabalaba’s Haba Group of Companies for loss of business in cancelled market deals.

The recommendations
“The Committee recommends that Mr Mutebile takes personal responsibility for acting outside the law in giving financial guarantees to a private person without Parliamentary approval. He should resign or be relieved of his duties,” the report reads in part.
Mr Mutebile once said nobody “will sack me except may be God,” and told money markets to ignore “the rumblings in Parliament.”
In 2011, Mr Mutebile used $740m in foreign reserve currency to fund the purchase of fighter jets. The money was spent without Parliament approval and only on President Museveni’s promise that he would replenish the accounts using money from oil.
On the Basajjabalaba deal, the committee recommends that the Central Bank should adhere to the existing legal framework and stick to the principle of independence as enshrined in the Constitution.
“The Governor is accordingly held responsible for flouting Section 29 and 33 of the Bank of Uganda Act, 1993 and Section 20 of the Public Finance and Accountability Act, 2003,” the report reads in part.
While the Governor is currently away on sick leave and, therefore, unable to comment on the new report, when he appeared before the committee, he said the advance to Ministry of Defence was “a sensitive matter”. He, however, advised the Committee to seek details from either Ministry of Defence or the President.

Minister in trouble
The MPs accuse minister Ajedra of causing loss to government by his numerous directives. They also want him relieved of his duties for influence-peddling and abuse of office.
“He [Mr Ajedra] should immediately resign or be relieved of his duties by the appointing authority for acting outside the law and for abuse of office,” the 253-page report to Parliament reads in part.
A new investigation by COSASE revealed that in a May 28, 2014, letter to Uganda Investment Authority (UIA), the minister usurped the mandate of the board and constituted himself into panels to interview and award jobs at UIA. The minister has been accused of appointing a director for small and medium enterprises from his region.
When contacted, Mr Ajedra described the accusations against him as “malicious” and vowed to drag Parliament to court in defence of his integrity. The minister also denied appointing people from his region.
“I don’t even know that person (director SME) as a person. I don’t even think he comes from my region and I take offence…,” the minister said.
“There was no board yet government had to work. The land allocations they are talking about were made through a transparent process. I cannot wake one day and appoint a new board, I have to consult widely and it takes time; it is a process,” he said.

THE BACKGROUND
In 2012, the Public Accounts Committee chaired by Terego MP Kassiano Wadri had recommended for Mr Mutebile’s sacking and prosecution in Basajjabalaba saga that led to the sacking of two senior ministers. However, it took the intervention of the President to save the governor