{UAH} How Museveni got sucked into fights for jobs, deals at Uganda Airlines

How Museveni got sucked into fights for jobs, deals at Uganda Airlines

SUNDAY MAY 30 2021

President Museveni (in white)disembarks from one of Uganda Airlines CRJ900 Bombardiers at Entebbe International Airport in 2019. PHOTO/FILE

Summary

Sources say the airlines has been immersed in fights over jobs, money and multimillion procurement deals involving media and publicity services, jet fuel, uniforms and ticket sales

ADVERTISEMENT

By Isaac Mufumba

More by this Author

The Uganda Airlines revival process has been hit by turbulence forced by major fights involving top management and board of the national flag carrier and officials at the Ministry of Works and Transport.
The groups have clashed over jobs, money and multimillion procurement deals involving media and publicity services, jet fuel, uniforms and control of agencies outside Uganda to manage ticket sales for the corporation. 

Sunday Monitor has learnt that the fights began even before August 2019 when the airline launched operations with flights from Entebbe to regional destinations Nairobi, Mombasa (Kenya), Mogadishu (Somalia), Juba (South Sudan), Bujumbura (Burundi), Dar es Salaam and Kilimanjaro (Tanzania).

The fights culminated in suspension on April 28 of top management team, including chief executive officer Cornwell Muleya, finance director Paul Turacayisenga, director of marketing Rogers Wamala, human resource manager Joseph Sebbowa, and director of safety Bruno Oringi.
A week later, the seven-member board of directors led by former junior minister for Local Government, also former Rubanda East MP Perez Ahabwe, were also sent packing. 
Along with Mr Ahabwe also exited Benon Kajuna, Mr Godfrey Ssemugooma, Ms Catherine Asinde Poran, Ms Rehema Mutazindwa, Mr Charles Hamya, and Mr Stephen Aziku Zua.
The suspensions, Sunday Monitor has learnt, were forced by multiple dossiers sent to President Museveni by all interested parties.

In the immediate aftermath of the suspensions, the former minister of State for Transport, Ms Joy Kabatsi, under whose supervision the airline fell, indicated she too had been taken by surprise.
"I had called the board and the executive director for a meeting but they did not turn up. I did not hear from them again, only to hear what you are hearing," Ms Kabatsi told Sunday Monitor earlier this month.
A few days later, the outgoing Works and Transport Minister, Gen Edward Katumba Wamala, said the group had been forced to take accumulated leave.
 
But on Monday last week, while addressing MPs after the election of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of Parliament, President Museveni revealed that it was on his instructions that the management team and the board were sent packing.
"The airline was infiltrated immediately (it was revived) by some corrupt elements – employing their relatives, overbudgeting, inflating procurement costs, terrible! Terrible things! When I got the information, I dispersed the whole group," Mr Museveni said.
But which terrible things did the management and the board commit?

Procurement fights
In his speech on Monday, Mr Museveni simply said the senior managers and members of the board had been dabbling in inflation of procurement costs, but if the contents of a January 27 report that Mr Muleya handed to Gen Salim Saleh for onward transmission to the President is anything to go by, the problem is perhaps much bigger than the President made it appear.

Mr Muleya indicated that some members of the board had been pushing "for the promotion of self-interest" and in other cases colluded with some managers to make quick bucks.
"In procurement specifically, management has witnessed cases where board members have met with some members of the management team with a view to find[ing] ways of invoice loading and other money-making schemes…This attempted collusion... has tended to divide the management team and has brought inefficiency..." he wrote.

--
Disclaimer:Everyone posting to this Forum bears the sole responsibility for any legal consequences of his or her postings, and hence statements and facts must be presented responsibly. Your continued membership signifies that you agree to this disclaimer and pledge to abide by our Rules and Guidelines.To unsubscribe from this group, send email to: ugandans-at-heart+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ugandans at Heart (UAH) Community" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to ugandans-at-heart+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/ugandans-at-heart/CAECQChZB4DGHaXS0%3DnLOREpwRTtGBGVQNOpoj6KfPKS%3DVRGvEQ%40mail.gmail.com.