KAMPALA: The minister of finance together with Bank of Uganda officials and businessman Hassan Basajjabalaba of Haba Group are again expected to appear before parliament’s Committee on Commissions Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises this morning.
They are expected to answer queries relating to the over Shs.140bn liability which the Auditor General says remains unrecovered as money guaranteed by Bank of Uganda.
The MPs are concerned that the Bank of Uganda -guaranteed loan to Haba Group has remained unrecovered for nine years
The committee, chaired by COSASE Chairperson Muwada Nkunyingi and Deputy Chairperson George Musisi, is examining circumstances surrounding the loan and efforts to recover the funds.
Basajjabalaba told the committee earlier that the Shs140 billion figure does not present the full picture, arguing that his outstanding claims against the Government are linked to cancelled contracts and agreements where he had surrendered his interests.
He said the Government had agreed to terminate his contracts and pay him the amounts due, but the agreement had not been fully honoured.
The businessman asked COSASE to consider recommending the return of the properties involved if his claims are found to have merit.
During the appearance, Basajjabalaba also raised his compensation claim over the cancellation of his company’s deal to redevelop Kampala’s City Square, saying the matter remains part of his wider disputes with the Government over cancelled market and property arrangements.
He told the committee that his company won the City Square redevelopment tender in 2001 and paid Shs1.6 billion to the then Kampala City Council (KCC) as a premium.
