Francis Mwebesa, the Minister of Trade, has expressed his frustration and threatened to take legal action against the government for making him use his personal funds to fuel his official car.
Mwebesa was shocked to discover that a low-ranking officer at the Ministry had been using his fuel card.
“I am almost taking the government to court because I have been spending my own money, yet I have heard that some people have been taking millions. I want to ask the government to pay me this money regardless of everything,” said Mwebesa.
Mwebesa’s concerns came to light during a hearing before Parliament’s Trade Committee. Additionally, it was revealed in the same committee that Deo Byaruhanga, a Principal Engineer at the Ministry of Trade, spent Shs2m on fuel per trip to transport files from Farmer’s House in Kampala to Entebbe during office renovations.
In a shocking revelation, officials of the Ministry of Trade confirmed that a staggering Shs400m was spent moving documents from the Ministry’s office in Kampala to its stores in Entebbe. The distance between the two locations is only about 50 kilometers.
The Ministry’s offices are situated in Farmers House in Kampala’s Central Business District, making the hefty Shs400m cost for document transfer a matter of concern for legislators sitting on the Parliamentary Committee on Trade, Tourism, and Industry.