Parliament yesterday debated the Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) report on closed commercial banks, with MPs recommending compensation to directors of the “illegally’ closed banks, including tycoon Sudhir Rupareria’s Crane Bank Ltd.
The MPs were also furious that COSASE in their report did not name the individual culprits who could have benefitted from the closure of seven commercial banks. The MPs want the culpable individuals punished.
Punish culpable BoU officials
“BoU officials who failed to properly execute their duties according to the law should be held liable for the omissions and commission during their work in this process but the committee does not come out specifically to mention. We need to get the names of the particular officials. Even when you say the other institutions should take on, we should have somewhere to start from. Who are these names, who are these persons and what are the offices? Bududa Woman MP Justine Khainza said.
“Madam Speaker, if you do not have an inventory, what are you selling; and the other person, what are they buying? This clearly shows that maybe there was some dealing between people within BoU and the buyers of these banks,” Sarah Achieng Opendi, (State Minister of Health and Woman MP, Tororo District said.
“Really, after finding that banks were being sold without following the laws, people should be held responsible. We cannot sit here as Parliament and simply adopt such a report without bringing personalities in this report. If we were in a developed country, people would have resigned. But this is Uganda where corruption seems to the order of the day,” Achieng said.
“For you to come up and say BoU officials who failed to properly execute their duties should be held responsible- who are these officials? Why didn’t the committee name them? I find this report lacking,” she added.
“We need to name names of those responsible. I still remember the name of Bagyenda, I remember the name Kasekende, Margaret Kasule, I remember Justine (Bagyenda) and I still remember Sekabira. These names feature prominently from Day 1 of the probe to the last day,” Denis Obua, the Ajuri County MP said.
“The Parliament should take disciplinary action against the culprits at BOU to act as an example for the future generation,” Kampala Central MP Mohammed Nsereko said.
On not naming names, outgoing COSASE Chairman Abdu Katuntu said, “We have nothing to hide. As we give these names however, we need to be cautious of the case of Fox Odoi v Attorney General”, in which the leadership code was found inconsistent with individual rights in the constitution,” he said.
Katuntu said his committee worked under very tough conditions, with limited resources and time but they were “angry” with their findings of the rot in BoU.
“How do you hold meetings to sell off banks and you have no minutes? We were very angry. How do you get a lawyer of a commercial bank to be a principal adviser of a Central Bank against another bank?” Katuntu said.
Mukono Municipality MP Betty Nambooze called for immediate resignation of the officials. “I am told the Governor and Deputy Governor of BoU will retire in 2021 and 2020 respectively. Do we have to wait for that time? Can’t these people step down and say, ‘We have failed’?” she retorted.
BoU should wield less power
The MPs were appalled that BoU wielded a lot of power, allowing a lot of rot to go on for several years without any checks and balances.
“We have opened a door that had never been opened before. The commercial banks have been terrorised but had no way out and where to go. The Director Bank supervision was a demi-god,” Katuntu said.
“Bank of Uganda is supposed to be the custodian of all financial systems, laws regulations and rules. Now that all the rules and financial systems have been abused by Bank of Uganda. Where do we run to next?” Col. Fred Mwesigye the Nyabushozi MP said.
“When you observe irregular, shoddy procurements, lack of record keeping, where do we go? The post mortem is done, what is next? This is my biggest question. These people (BoU) have been hiding within the law because of their independence, I would like to challenge parliament to quickly, through their methods of work to amend, overhaul this law concerning Bank of Uganda so that at least we make sure that all these recommendations as suggested by the committee are put in place immediately.” Mwesigye said.
“It is on record that Parliament has never investigated BoU because they have always hidden themselves under the law. As we speak any Uganda who followed this investigation, knows that BoU appears to be naked,” MP Obua said.
Compensate those who lost out
The MPs also recommended that those who lost out in the shoddy BoU dealings should be compensated.
“Madam Speaker, I am of the view that the loss incurred by the shareholder of these banks must be made good of,” Kampala Central MP Mohammed Nsereko said.
“There has been no report from Bank of Uganda on any closure in 23 years; seven commercial banks are closed without any reports, including the auditors who audited, no report was availed to them. Whether we like it or not the action of BoU is unfair to these commercial banks. I want to support the recommendations of the committee,” MP Obua said.
Manjiya County MP, John Baptist Nambeshe hailed former Crane Bank owner tycoon Sudhir Ruparelia for his role in exposing the BoU rot.
“Madam Speaker, there is a one Sudhir Ruparelia, I didn’t know the man but as a whistle-blower and the only disposed bank owner who never let go, who fought back and his fight helped to exposed the incompetence, the rot in Bank of Uganda, the culture of impunity in BOU, the criminality in BoU. I must thank Sudhir Ruparelia for the effort and exposing this rot,” he said.