The battle between the two Generals Jim Muhwezi and Kahinda Otafiire over the legality of the authenticity of the Joint Stock Global Security Company on Thursday August 24, 2023 took another twist recently.
To the surprise of many, the Speaker Anita Annet Among directed the Physical Infrastructure Committee of Parliament to halt all investigations related to the Joint Stock Global Security Company which is believed to be a ghost company.
The decision sparked mixed reaction among committee members.
“We are not going to allow this, we have to meet the speaker to inform her we have enough evidence of plans to defraud Ugandans,” Nakawa East MP Balimwezo Ronald Nsubuga and Maurice Henry Kibalya of Bugabula south stated.
But anti-corruption civil society groups have bitterly reacted to the decision of Parliament Head Anita Annet Among whom they had expected to support MP’s in the investigation but instead pushed to halt the process.
The executive director Anti- Coalition Uganda (ACCU) Marlon Agaba said, “It’s a worrying trend that the speaker is intervening in a deal that did not follow the normal procurement process but also a deal that would see public funds defrauded”
“With this deal, if passed, innocent Uganda will be defrauded of their hard earned money,” Agaba adds.
The Parliament's physical infrastructure committee chairperson of Dan Kimosho has already notified committee members about the letter from the office of the Speaker that stops them from carrying out further investigations, a view that has sparked mixed reaction from committee members.
This is not the first time parliament head has intervened in its committee investigations; earlier it directed a halt in the COSASE investigations on Uganda Airlines but COSASE went ahead to continue to report findings which parliament rejected on allegations of being leaked.
But the Center for Policy Analysis (CEPA) , a civil society group working with parliament to influence policy direction, believes the steps taken by the head of the institution of parliament set a bad precedent.
“This means that any committee that will in future not heed to the calls of the speaker, its findings won’t be valid” the programs Manager CEPA Timothy Chemonges said.
Internal affairs Minister Kahinda Otafire recently told the committee that he wrote to president Museveni warning him against contracting the Russian company. Otafire claimed he had advised the foreign company to work alongside the local companies here.
“This now proves that there is a predetermined position on the side of the executives in the procurement process of car plates” Chemonges said.
New vehicle and motorcycle owners will pay Shs714,000 for the digital number plates while already registered road users will be required to pay Shs150,000 and Shs50,000 for vehicles and motorcycles.
