When war broke out in South Sudan between President Salva Kiir and his then Vice, Riek Machar, thousands of Ugandans that were doing business in South Sudan had to flee the country back to Uganda for safety, leaving their businesses behind.
When they came back here, the government planned to compensate them and indeed in April this year, Parliament appropriated Shs76 billion as their compensation. Now, Parliament wonders why the Ministry of Finance has delayed processing their payment.
Today in Parliament, the State Minister for Finance David Bahati presented a statement explaining that the matter is before court and the sub-judice rule applies so it is prohibited from public discussion elsewhere.
Speaker Rebecca Kadaga is not pleased with Bahati’s statement and she has decided that Parliament will not handle and matter from the Ministry of Finance until this matter is resolved satisfactorily.
“Given the unsatisfactory response to Parliament by the Finance Ministry on why they haven’t paid Ugandan traders in South Sudan, Parliament shall not process any business from the Ministry of Finance until the Minister comes and explains why he has not paid the traders,” Kadaga said.
She added, “Parliament appropriated Shs76 billion for payment of the traders and this matter has been on the order of business in Parliament since April. The excuse of being taken to court is a strategy to avoid making the payments.”