Parliament’s accountability committee has suspended its probe into a disputed Shs140.487 billion Bank of Uganda financing arrangement involving Haba Group after Finance Minister Henry Musasizi failed to appear before MPs to explain the government’s role in the transaction.
The Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE), chaired by Kyadondo East Member of Parliament Muwada Nkunyingi, suspended its business until Tuesday after the minister failed to turn up despite having requested to appear before the committee.
Musasizi had been summoned alongside Bank of Uganda Governor Dr Michael Atingi-Ego and Haba Group officials to help the committee establish how the 2017 financing arrangement was authorised and why the outstanding amount has remained unresolved.
The committee briefly suspended its sitting for 30 minutes and sent CID officers attached to Parliament to the Ministry of Finance to establish the minister’s whereabouts.
Detective Fredrick Chemonges told MPs that officers found Under-Secretary Edward Sengonzi Damulira, who said Musasizi had arrived at the ministry earlier but had engagements outside Kampala. He also said the other ministers at the ministry were out of station.
Nkunyingi said the minister’s attendance was critical because COSASE had invited him several times and, on this occasion, he had personally requested to appear.
“We cannot invite witnesses who we intend to interact with as a team several times, and the one particular witness chooses not to appear and doesn’t offer us communication,” Nkunyingi said.
The committee is investigating a financial arrangement dating back to 2017, when Bank of Uganda issued a guarantee or letters of comfort to facilitate financing for Haba Group following communication from the Ministry of Finance.
Bank of Uganda officials have told COSASE that the arrangement followed instructions from the Finance Ministry and that the central bank subsequently became liable after Haba failed to repay the financing.
According to records before the committee, Shs140.487 billion remains outstanding. The figure is also reflected in Bank of Uganda’s financial statements as an unresolved exposure dating back to 2017.
However, Haba Group chairman Hassan Basajjabalaba has disputed the figure and the extent of the liability. When he appeared before COSASE last month, he told MPs that Haba’s claim stood at Shs168.8 billion, creating a discrepancy that the committee now wants the parties to reconcile.
COSASE therefore wants Haba Group, Bank of Uganda and the Ministry of Finance to harmonise their records before the inquiry can proceed.
Musasizi’s absence also triggered a debate among MPs over whether the committee should initiate censure proceedings against him.
Busia Municipality MP Ismail Sowedi Mulemya proposed that the committee consider censuring the minister, arguing that his failure to appear amounted to defiance of parliamentary oversight.
Other MPs, including Rubanda West MP Bruce Kabaasa, Mbarara City North MP Christopher Bakashaba and Butaleja District MP Sarah Annet Logose, opposed an immediate censure process, arguing that Musasizi should first be given an opportunity to explain his absence.
Nkunyingi said the Constitution and Parliament’s Rules of Procedure provide for the censure of a minister on specified grounds, including misconduct, mismanagement or incompetence, but said the committee needed to consider the matter carefully.
He subsequently suspended COSASE proceedings until Tuesday, including a planned engagement with the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) on Monday, to allow members to discuss the minister’s conduct and determine the next course of action.
The committee also directed the Clerk to notify the Speaker of Parliament and write to the appointing authority regarding Musasizi’s non-appearance.
The standoff comes weeks after Speaker Jacob Marksons Oboth warned accounting officers that appearing before parliamentary committees is a constitutional obligation and urged them to honour summons.
Oboth issued the warning on August 19 after concerns that some accounting officers were failing to appear before committees, saying their accountability to citizens through Parliament required them to respond when summoned.
