Fredrick Masiga
16 September 2008
opinion
Kampala — I had refrained from commenting publicly on the NSSF blah blah blah saga because I considered it hijacked and made complicated by those who wish to settle personal vendettas or otherwise.
And clearly, reading through Andrew Mwenda's piece in the New Vision last Friday, he showed he had fallen to that bait by accusing Daily Monitor's journalists and editors of concentrating on the trivial issue of the stated price of the land other than the economic long-term strategic value of the deal. Mwenda makes a case for NSSF and from a purely business point of view I agree with him that NSSF could have gotten "an excellent deal".
Mwenda understands, and I do agree with him again, that most commentators are causing confusion over the issues by failing to draw a line between the deal as a purely business venture and the politics perforating there from on account of the protagonists in the deal and their political underlings.
That line can be drawn but only to some extent because Security Minister Amama Mbabazi's own political role comes into play in the deal - though someone must prove that Mbabazi did put his political position to use.
In this debate, we must disregard the utterances of some disheartened people such as former Health Minister Jim Muhwezi and businessman Hassan Basajjabalaba and others whose reputations with public funds are in the same respect questionable. Some of these voices are only concerned about bringing down the man they believe stole the limelight from them.
However Mwenda should not expect Daily Monitor to do any kind of public relations for Mbabazi. But here is why and how Mbabazi's political life gets intertwined in the debate. The principle characters in the debate are Mbabazi and his business associate Amos Nzeyi on the one hand, Finance Minister Dr Ezra Suruma as the pivot and NSSF on the far side. These three form the decisive triangle of Temangalo.
Dr Suruma is the minister responsible for NSSF. Both Dr Suruma and Mbabazi are shareholders in the National Bank of Commerce. If, as Mbabazi told MPs that he sold the land because he wanted to recapitalise NBC, then we begin to ask a few questions. How much influence did Dr. Suruma and Mbabazi have in asking NSSF to buy that land? How much of their mutual interest in NBC did inform their decision to sell land to NSSF and not Akright? If the buyer had been someone else other than NSSF the equation would definitely change.
As minister in-charge of NSSF but with vested interest in NBC, Dr Suruma is clearly on both sides of the negotiations; he must approve NSSF's purchase of the land but also probably aware that the proceeds to Mbabazi are destined to NBC. If Mbabazi is innocent of influence peddling, which I believe is the only charge against him then Dr Suruma and the NSSF board must be held more accountable for not observing procedural rules.
Mwenda argues that "procedural defects should not blind us to the strategic value of NSSF's investment in Temangalo." That is acceptable, but NSSF is not Monitor Cooperative. NSSF is a public institution with 250,000 members and strict adherence to procedure is a prerequisite for proper accountability. How else can members know their money is not being squandered if procedures keep changing? In the next few days or weeks a sacrificial lamb could be found to cleanse NSSF.
NSSF has it has itself to blame for allowing other powers to use its corridors to transact business that NSSF's board has little powers to control. The last time NSSF had this same kind of situation, Leonard Mpuma and his chairman Onegi Obel took leave; they did not return.
NSSF MD David Jamwa and his chairman are likely to face the same but they have the benefit of determining how go down. Two options; either silently alone or noisily with someone.
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