Uganda Telecom administrator, Bemanya Twebaze has said that auditing of the company’s operations can only happen at the end of his administration.
Twebaze (in featured photo) denied that he had blocked any audit, but said that it was not the right time for government to carry out an audit.
“Final accounts will be availed for auditing at the end of administration due on 22nd November 2019. Nonetheless, the law requires us to make periodic reports every 6 months. These have always been done and shared with Court and all creditors. They are public documents,” said Twebaze who is the Registrar General of Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB).
On Friday, Twebaze addressed a Press Conference at the UTL headquarters in response to State Minister for Investment and Privatization Evelyn Anite’s statement to parliament that government had lost control over UTL.
Anite on Thursday told parliament that Twebaze had reportedly refused UTL operations to be audited by the Auditor General John Muwanga and Finance Ministry saying that he can only report to court.
She said that government which holds 31 percent shares currently does not know the financial standing of the company and that government was waiting on Attorney General William Byaruhanga’s opinion on the matter.
Her statements came after the Aringa South MP, Alioni Yorke Odria tabled shocking documents indicating that government’s efforts to carry out accountability audits in UTL have been blocked by the Administrator whom he described as an illegal operator.
Odria told parliament that UTL currently has creditors of over 534 billion Shillings including pensioners, loans and others.
Twebaze said that following his appointment as administrator with the exist of Ucom Limited, a Libya based company that owned 69 percent shares in March 2017, he entered into an administration deed with the shareholders where they ceded to him all their powers to run the company and that he can sale its assets either in piecemeal or as a whole, among others.
He explained that his powers are derived from the insolvency Laws of Uganda that among others require him to work independent of shareholders and put creditors’ rights at his forefront.
Twebaze said that having found the Telecom in a sorry state, he had two options to either liquidate the company or try and optimize its operations and make it healthier and attract investment.
He told Journalists that he chose to make the company which was heavily indebted with liabilities estimated at 900 billion shillings against an estimated value of Shillings 148 billion healthier.
He, however, acknowledged that it was true that the company is heavily indebted.
In regard to revenues, Twebaze said that UTL’s monthly revenue has stagnated at an average of 4.2 billion Shillings since commencement of administration and that efforts to increase it have been hampered by lack of funds to upgrade the network that does not meet customers’ expectations.
“With all these limitations the revenue has grown by 16% from Shillings 2.2 billion in April 2017 to Shillings 2.6 billion however the revenue has reduced by 61% from Shillings 793 million in April 2017 to Shillings 308 in May 2019 because we running a 2G network compared to competition at 4G,” he explained.
Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga is set to give her ruling on the UTL accountability standoff on Tuesday after studying documents presented before parliament.
–URN
