Parliament’s accountability committee has questioned the legality of transactions involving five companies with Shs8.018 billion in outstanding registration fees, warning that failure to comply with statutory requirements could expose government investments to financial losses.
The Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE), chaired by Kyadondo East MP Muwada Nkunyingi, raised the concerns on Thursday during a follow-up meeting with the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB).
The five companies under scrutiny are Roko Construction, Tropical Bank, Speke Resort Convention Centre, Oil Palm Buvuma and Horyal Investments Holding Company Limited.
URSB reported that Horyal Investments had outstanding fees of about Shs3 billion, Roko Construction Shs2.071 billion, Speke Resort Shs2 billion, Oil Palm Buvuma Shs599 million and Tropical Bank Shs347.035 million.
Only representatives of Roko Construction and Tropical Bank appeared before the committee, prompting COSASE to summon officials from Speke Resort and Oil Palm Buvuma. Horyal Investments was scheduled to appear on November 11.
The inquiry is seeking to establish why transactions involving the companies were processed despite the outstanding fees and whether an undertaking by the Ministry of Finance to settle the arrears was sufficient justification for bypassing statutory requirements.
Lugazi Municipality MP Richard Ssalongo Senteza questioned whether URSB was enforcing the law consistently, arguing that large companies should not enjoy preferential treatment because of their connections to government.
He challenged the bureau to explain why smaller businesses face account freezes for failing to meet annual filing requirements, while companies with billions of shillings in outstanding fees continue operating.
Senteza also questioned whether URSB had made any meaningful efforts to recover the money before Parliament intervened.
Moroto District Woman MP Stella Atyang demanded documentary evidence of the bureau’s efforts to collect the outstanding fees, questioning whether it had adequately fulfilled its mandate to protect government revenue.
Bamunanika County MP Robert Ssekitoleko also questioned the role of Ministry of Finance Commissioner Moses Kagwa, citing his reported involvement in several companies in which government holds investments.
Nkunyingi said the investigation was not limited to recovering unpaid registration fees but also sought to establish whether the transactions were legally processed and whether government’s shareholding in the affected companies was adequately protected.
He warned that failure to comply with statutory registration requirements could weaken government’s ability to enforce its ownership rights and safeguard public investments, particularly if the companies encountered financial difficulties.
Buzaaya County MP Martin Muzaale questioned whether government officials appointed to represent the state in various companies were adequately monitoring public investments, including dividends, financial performance and returns.
He cited Roko Construction, where he said government holds a 91 per cent stake, as an example of the need to establish whether public investments were generating the expected returns.
Muzaale also called for scrutiny of the processes through which investment decisions and exemptions were approved, warning that weak oversight could expose public funds to losses.
COSASE is expected to continue examining the conduct of URSB and the Ministry of Finance before making recommendations on the outstanding fees, compliance with statutory requirements and protection of government investments.
