MPs want recipients of Shs6B oil payment to return the money
Lawmakers are also calling for parliament to quickly convene and probe the payment, which they say is an illegality and wastage of taxpayer’s money.
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The Auditor General David Muwanga plans to probe a Shs6Bn payment doled out to senior government officials as a reward after the Uganda Revenue Authority won a court settlement of Shs824Bn against the British oil firm, Tullow.
Lawmakers are also calling for parliament to quickly convene and probe the payment, which they say is an illegality and wastage of taxpayer’s money.
In June 2015, a protracted legal battle over capital gains tax between Uganda Revenue Authority & Tullow oil resulted into a settlement of Sh824Bn.
It has now come to light that after the successful conclusion of the case, about six billion shillings was doled out to senior government officials as a reward for their role in facilitating the successful settlement.
However, as the exact recipients of the payments become known, MPs have begun questioning the payment claiming it is illegal. Gerald Karuhanga, the Ntungamo Municipality MP, who was one of the witnesses to the court hearings in London that preceded the settlement, says its baffling why money should be paid to government officials.
Karuhanga says government had already released a payment of Shs10Bn to pay the lawyers that represented it, which should have been enough to cater for any work done to win the case.
Karuhanga says those involved should be held culpable for accepting an illegal payment, ostensibly for doing the jobs they were hired and paid salaries to do.
As a result of the MPs’ concerns, the Auditor General, John Muwanga, promised to investigate the payments and deliver his findings to parliament. Some lawmakers said they will petition the Speaker of Parliament and they have demanded for a probe into what they call a ‘dubious payment’.
Some of the officials who received payment are; Doris Akol, who is currently the URA Commissioner General; former Attorney General Peter Nyombi; the deceased ministry of finance permanent secretary, Chris Kassami; and the former Deputy Attorney General, Freddie Ruhindi. Others are KCCA executive director, Jeniffer Musisi, who previously served as the head of URA’s legal department, Lawrence Kiiza, a senior official in the ministry of Finance and the, Solicitor General Francis Atoke.
