Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development Betty Amongi Akena talks to NBS Television’s Canary Mugume about her suspicions concerning the management of the National Social Security Firm (NSSF) that have actually resulted in the parliament probe. The board suggested Richard Byarugaba to be re-appointed in spite of him clicking retirement age. Why did you not pass the board’s suggestion? I did decline the suggestion of the board due to the fact that I desired clearness on a few of the claims that I had actually gotten from a number of sources. The number of concerns that are included in my letter associated to monetary impropriety carried out under the previous MD Richard Byarugaba in fact came from the personnel of NSSF, some of whom are extremely close to him, they provided me briefs. And beyond sensible doubt, I understand there has actually been mismanagement however as a Minister, I do not have the required to identify that, that is why I asked for to postpone the re-appointment (of Richard Byarugaba) and permit examinations to go on. Is that the exact same factor you turned down or ignored the letter from the Prime Minister re-appointing Richard? Short article 117 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda states extremely plainly that the minister will be answerable to the President. This is an extremely concern. I annexed all my proofs. I likewise went to sit with the Right Honourable Prime Minister. I went over with her the proof that I had, and she concurred with me that an examination need to be carried out. Her position was that examination can continue while Mr. Byarugaba is in workplace, nevertheless, as a legal representative, I should do something legal. I needed to action in to interdict him. The Prime Minister is your employer. You still did not follow her regulation, you never ever listened to her. Yes. She is my manager and as a manager she can provide you me instruction. I need to work out that instruction within the legal structure. The President composed you a letter stating that prior to you decide you must seek advice from silently however we now see letters authored by you, out there on social networks. Did you deliberately leakage them? When Mr. Richard Byarugaba understood that I was no longer going to re-appoint him up until the examination is performed, upon invoice of the a copy of my letter, delaying his visit, he began a defamation of character versus me, consisting of utilizing individuals to leakage my letter and I got the intelligence report, and I desire individuals out there to understand that each and every single plot and defamation of character and the strategy that was going on, I was informed every day by intelligence. Let’s speak about the 6 billion shillings demand, was it by you? Did you have individual interests in it? The real fact is that when the brand-new law entered force in February 2022 and the budget plan got to my table, the data were extremely clear that these are the very same activities that NSSF has actually been carrying out. Richard himself composed to me, showing that these activities have actually been carried out by the fund, I called for a conference for budget plan approval, and we concurred with him and the management group that because we are now going into voluntary, it would need us to go to reach out and sign up 75% of the overall working population in this nation, for that reason, I utilized their figure of 5.6 billion which was allocated for, in the previous monetary years to execute the brand-new law. The only activity I included was the one associated to diaspora which is why in all the committee sittings, Richard has actually been asked to produce a letter where the Minister desired this cash for her ministry. He has stopped working to produce it, and no nobody has produced, why? Since all of them understand that it is the fact. It is legal. It is activities for the fund, and to be carried out by the fund, and they understand that it is. What are your particular concerns with the management of NSSF? What issues do you have about pension towers, Temangalo, the job in Lubowa, NSSF’s financial investment in the Kenyan securities? There has actually been misstatement of truth; How individuals bundle misrepresent realities and facilitate them all the method through and procedure cash, big amounts of cash up until it is authorized through all the system and they desire me as a Minister to authorize due to the fact that I’m the last individual to authorize, and they desire me to authorize without questioning or without carrying out due diligence. That is my significant issue. When it comes to pension towers. I discovered that they currently made a conversion of shs.76 billion, however when I checked out to the website by now the Pension hours ought to have been concluded and ought to have been turned over. It was not over, so I found that there was a fracture. Upon asking from the board whether they knew there’s a fracture, the board stated they have actually found out about it however they had actually not been permitted to check out. I offered the board a job. They never ever returned to me on what they had actually concluded. If they had actually returned to me, I will not have actually put it as one of the problems today. Prior to I purchased for that examination, I asked the board to examine initially since management they had actually requested for an extra shs.42 billion for pension towers, that cash is lying there on their desk awaiting the examination. Richard informed me about the invite of the President to introduce Lubowa housing estate with 303 systems. I informed him I can not go to that occasion as a minister prior to I explore it. He arranged, and I went to the task with him. Throughout the trip, I was being revealed homes and homes; 2 bed room houses that cost shs.800 million, a bangalow of 4 bed rooms about shs.1.7 billion. and so on. The cash was not building up. Right away I explored, I decline to go for that launch. I handed over by Minister of State to go since I understood there was an issue. In fact, the most significant most significant fallout for me, is not about the shs.6 billion in media. It’s about 3 things which I did not put in the spending plan, the shs.400 billion which I declined to put in the spending plan, the $1 million for business social duty, and the shs.112 billion for Yusuf Lule roadway. Those are the only 3 things that made previous MD Richard run mad and I’m happy he duplicated it even in the committee probe. Register for complimentary AllAfrica Newsletters Get the current in African news provided directly to your inbox Is the cash in NSSF safe? When they brought the budget plan they asked me to authorize cash that pays fund supervisors. Now what they do, they get cash from NSSF and move it to the account of a personal individual whom they call a fund supervisor. And they inform you that fund supervisor to now sources for stocks and equities from Kenya, UK, Tanzania yet these individuals have actually been resting on this cash and making revenue out of it. And I understand so. When I got to understand, I got my intelligence instruction. In some cases they put cash in inactive accounts and they offer to cash lending institutions in the area. What is the function of Kapeeka and General Salim Saleh in all this? You composed a letter where you discussed Kapeeka 8 times. Kapeeka is a commercial park, as a minister in charge of labor, I asked for to check out the commercial park however when I reached there, I discovered that employees were not signed up with NSSF. I asked Gen.Saleh why his group was not signed up? I have in fact asked NSSF to come and register them. We talked about with Gen.Saleh how Kapeeka commercial Park can be an example. Canary Mugume: Minister, thanks for speaking with us. Minister Betty Amongi: Pleasure is mine.
Uganda: Minister Amongi Speaks Out On Disagreement With Nabbanja, Byarugaba Interdiction and the Shs 6 Billion
