{UAH} Ex-US Trade Official "interviewed" in Uganda railway scandal probe

Folks;

Western lobbyists are increasingly turning Africa into easy-money pits. 

Away from their country's laws that forbid them from offering consulting services for some time after leaving government service, these lobbyists are suitcase buccaneers, parachuting in the morning with briefcase full of contracts, and flying out in the evening with suitcase full of money.

And they all have one thing in common: once upon a time, even for a nano second, they dealt with Africa on behalf of their country: as trade reps, ambassadors, or even ministers, such as Jendayi Frazier of US and Linda Chalker of United Kingdom.

The jury is still out about the value of their services, because what they do, as we read here in this piece, is always secret. So, we can't know how much our government pays them, and why!

Pojim

Railway probe: Whitaker testifies

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Ms Rosa Whitaker, the former US African representative in a meeting with Mr Sekitoleko Kafeero, the chairperson of the Ad-hock committee of standard gauge railways at Parliament yesterday. Photo by Geofffrey Sseruyange 

By  SOLOMON ARINAITWE

Posted  Tuesday, January 13  2015 at  02:00

IN SUMMARY

Order from above. Parliamentary committee meets the former US envoy following a Presidential directive.

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Parliament- President Museveni yesterday hastily ordered committee members of the ongoing inquiry into the messy procurement of a firm for the construction of the Standard Gauge Railway line to secretly interview Ms Rosa Whitaker, the former Assistant US Trade Representative for Africa.

Mr Kafeero Sekitoleko, the Nakifuna County MP, who is chairing the probe, told journalists that the President placed a call to him at 10:10 am yesterday and directed him to hurriedly arrange for a meeting with Ms Whitaker because she would be flying out later at night.

Ms Whitaker's name has been mentioned several times in the controversial manner in which China Harbour Engineering Corporation (CHEC) won the coveted $8.5b (about Shs22 trillion) deal to construct the Eastern route of the line-after the cancellation of an understanding with China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC).

The cancellation of CCECC's understanding has since stalled the project even with Uganda already behind the October 2014 deadline as the project expected to be completed in March 2018.

"We were under strict instructions. It was a request from the President that they do not record the interview. The president called me at 10:10 and told me to meet her [Whitaker] and that she was travelling to Washington [and] so I mobilised some few members. It was really impromptu. We had not planned for this," Mr Sekitoleko said.

After her over two-hour interface with the committee, Ms Whitaker declined speaking to the media, telling waiting journalists to "speak to your honourable members" before she was whisked away in a waiting car.

Mr Tamale Mirundi, the President's spokesperson was unavailable for reply as calls to his mobile phone went unanswered before it was switched off.

When President Museveni was asked by journalists last week about the role played by Ms Whitaker in the deal, he insisted he was not in a "theatre" and that the information related to her involvement is confidential.

Mr Sekitoleko indicated that Ms Whitaker said her relationship with China Harbour Engineering Corporation (CHEC) is "vision driven" and that she did not receive any payment for fronting the Chinese firm to the Ugandan government.

What went wrong

On June 8, 2014, State Ministser for Works John Byabagambi wrote to CCECC terminating the MoU that was signed in 2012.

The company was invited by President Museveni in 2010 who directed that it works with UPDF but surprisingly, the Ministry of Defence later signed an MoU with another company for the same project

sarinaitwe@ug.nationmedia.com