COSASE rejects Museveni advice on holding secret BoU probe

Parliament’s Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) has rejected President Museveni’s advice in regards the ongoing investigation into the sale of several commercial banks by the central bank.

Responding to questions from journalists on Monday, Museveni advised the parliamentary committee to do their investigations in camera and make the findings public.

“If you want to investigate it, why don’t they do it quietly because you can investigate in camera so that what people see is action, not endless arguments,”Museveni advised COSASE on Monday.

However, the committee chairperson and Bugweri Member of Parliament, Abdu Katuntu said they could not attempt to do their investigation behind closed doors as this would fuel speculation among the public.

“The probe has to be transparent so that the public knows what we are doing,”Katuntu said.

The COSASE chairperson explained that at the beginning, some officials from the Bank of Uganda deliberately discredited the investigation prompting them to insist on making the committee’s proceedings public.

“The decision we took was to do it (investigation) transparently so that everybody see what we are doing and that will continue.”

Katuntu however noted that in case any issue that requires confidentiality comes up, the Bank of Uganda officials should raise it with the committee so they can see how to deal with it in camera.

“If there are any issues that may need this committee to proceed in camera, it should be brought in the table, we discuss it and take a judicious decision but that process also has to be transparent.”

The parliamentary committee probing the sale of seven banks between 1988 and 2016 has in the past weeks unearthed a number of revelations showing negligence and connivance by some officials in Bank of Uganda to deliberately and casually sell off various commercial banks without following the right procedure.

The probe is still ongoing.