Govt yet to get shares in pharma it is funding

Following a proposal by government to invest Shs578.4 billion in the construction of a pharmaceutical factory by DEI Bio Pharma, Parliament’s budget committee has learned that  shares in the company have not yet been allocated to government.

Whereas the project is  estimated to cost about Shs2 trillion government has already injected over Shs145 billion into it.

This delay is due to the Attorney General reviewing documents concerning the allotment of shares.

During a meeting between the budget committee and Ministry of Finance officials at Speke Resort Munyonyo to scrutinize the Shs1.1 trillion supplementary budget, where government seeks Parliament’s approval to allocate more funds to DEI Bio Pharma, the revelation was made.

MP Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, a member of the Budget Committee, remarked, "He (the Attorney General) is still reading the contract regarding the pharmaceutical factory, and whenever government is going to inject money into your business, you have to give government shares. When you ask government how many shares they have, they don’t know," Nganda said.

"We have given Mathias Magoola (owner of DEI Bio Pharma) Shs145 billion, and he is asking for more, needing Shs2 trillion. Even next year, you will see him return for more money. He has become like Atiak Sugar Factory and International Specialized Hospital Lubowa. If government wants to build a pharmaceutical factory and inject Shs2 trillion, how much money has Magoola injected into this factory?”

Henry Musasizi, Minister of State for Finance, defended government’s position, arguing that it entered into a partnership with the project developer to build the factory, aiming to facilitate import substitution in the pharmaceutical sector.

“The company has already made an investment of US$ 500 million (Shs1.902 trillion) in establishing Africa’s largest and state-of-the-art pharmaceutical plant.”