By Nakimuli Jackline
Kampala: The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Monica Musenero who is facing the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) since March 14, 2023, over Covid-19 expenditures in the financial years 2019/20 and 2020/21, seems to have started blackmailing the committee members after failing to provide proper accountability for billions of funds she received to develop the Covid-19 vaccine.
It should be noted that lawmakers on Public Accounts Committee had no kind words for the minister as she appeared before the committee to respond to queries in the Auditor General’s (AG) forensic investigation conducted by AG John Muwanga.
The AG said he couldn’t ascertain whether all Covid-19 expenditures were applied in accordance with existing guidelines and regulations.
The AG, among his findings, noted that Dr Musenero did not provide specific accountability documents and, therefore, “could not make the conclusions he could have made [in his final report] had he received and reviewed all the necessary documentation”.
The particulars of the documents Mr Muwanga said were not availed to him were proof of submission of accountability by the Presidential Scientific Initiative on Epidemics (PRESIDE) by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovations (MoSTI), the approved adjusted budgets for the laboratory animal house project and the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and antibody diagnostic test kits, PRESIDE follow-up on un-installed equipment for scientists and the records regarding the current status of equipment procured by MoSTI.
In response, Ms Musenero said the documents are all there and gave the example of the one containing records regarding the current status of equipment procured by MoSTI.
“I have confirmed that this document [bearing the current status of equipment procured by MoSTI] was available. We had a lot of documents to hand over but it was possibly an omission but the documents were there,” she said.
In the Financial Year 2020/2021, the MosTI received Shs31b in supplementary funding to fight Covid-19 and build a capacity of 23 selected projects carrying out Covid-19 research.
Following the minister’s response that the documents are there, the committee members then tasked her to produce them before them, which she failed to do.
Hon. Medard Lubega Ssegona (Busiro County East), the committee chairperson, ruled that the minister’s actions affected the AG’s work.
“Whatever report the AG issued is subject to this limitation and you know what this means. Honourable minister, you committed an offence unless you extricate yourself from this.”
He added: “When you go back, dig deeper for accountability-related documents because that was what the AG was asking for. Budget allocation was not an issue here but when you are allocated a budget, you account [for it].”
Hon. Nathan Nandala Mafabi (Budadiri County West) also faulted the minister and demanded that she avails the documents at all costs.
“Honourable Musenero herself is an accounting officer as far as this case is concerned. She was in charge and directed and concurred and the AG raised issues that she did not give him [specific] documents. The first documents she should produce are those that she refused to give him,” Mr Mafabi said.
He added: “Then other additional documents that we may need because as far as I am concerned, we have not even moved an inch.”
With the minister’s insistence that the documents are there, Mr Ssegona ruled that she hands them over to the committee without fail.
IS THE MINISTER NOW BLACKMAILING PAC OR NOT?
Dr Musenero is supposed to meet PAC again, considering the Auditor General’s forensic investigation report into funds received and spent by the Presidential Scientific Initiative on Epidemics (PRESIDE) where Dr Musenero was the accounting officer.
But it seems that the minister has now sought public sympathy by claiming she is a victim of character assassination by PAC members.
We’ve learnt that the disgruntled Minister has since attacked PAC and Hon Nandala Mafabi, accusing lawmakers of deliberately skipping pages of the Auditor General’s report something our reporter cannot confirm since the investigation is still ongoing.
Meanwhile, we wait for part two when she comes before the committee.
By press time, our efforts to reach her for a comment were futile as her known phones weren’t going through.