Thirty MPs are facing criminal investigation into their role in the embezzlement of Shs164bn meant to compensate Cooperatives, with already five files having been sanctioned by the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) of Police.
The revelation was made by Harriet Ntabaazi, Minister of State for Trade while appearing before Parliament’s Trade Committee where the Ministry of Trade had appeared to update Parliament on the financial and physical performance of the trade and industry sector.
“The Criminal Investigation Directorate (CID) is taking on files, around five files have been identified and the good thing with it, it wasn’t only the Ministry, there are MPs; more than 30 MPs who are into this including Opposition MPs, five active opposition MPs very talkative and noise makers will also face it rough. We shall also face it as a Ministry, but they will also face it. So, we aren’t scared, we shall also face it wherever it will end, God knows, let it unfold that way,” Ntabaazi said.
The Minister also called for calm amongst MPs saying the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives will continue executing its mandate amidst the probe, sating that had the theft been any issue, Office of the Prime Minister that was recently embroiled in the theft of iron sheets would have closed.
“We aren’t scared, we shall undertake it because it is now beyond us, we are before the security investigatory organs of Government, let us battle out there and the law will have it all. That shouldn’t worry the Committee and that won’t stop Government from working, otherwise that would have stopped the Office of Prime Minister from working, where the iron sheets were. So I beg you that you cool down, those organs of Government are doing their work,” said Ntabaazi.
It should be recalled that when Parliament’s Trade Committee undertook an investigation into how funds for Cooperatives was spent, the Committee discovered that payments amounting to Shs48.77bn were made in excess and outside the allocated amounts to various cooperatives.
The trade committee report highlighted that some compensations were made on unverified claims while there was a general lack of appreciation of the rationale for compensation to cooperatives for war losses.
Tom Bright Amooti (Kyaka Central) expressed anger over another request by the Ministry of Trade to disburse more Shs36.318bn to 18 Cooperative Unions for war loss claims in the last financial year, yet they had recommended a halt of payments.
He said: “Cooperatives were being formed in the night when the money was going to be disbursed the next morning, now at the same time, you are saying you have created new cooperatives, and you want more money to pay cooperatives. What type of cooperatives are we going to pay?”
James Olobo (Kioga North) vowed not to support any approval of funds for Cooperatives until the current mess is sorted, noting, “Which are these cooperative societies and how much have they got? There are issues here about cooperatives , unless this thing of the cooperatives has been cleared, completely, I am going to be one of those who will walk out of parliament when someone says they are going to give money to cooperatives. If this report had been debated in Parliament, it would have been a very big shame to Ugandans.”
