Yasiin Mugerwa
9 November 2009
The parliamentary Public Accounts Committee has resolved to expel any member who disrupts future sessions following last week's fracas that forced a temporary halt in its Chogm expenditure probe.
Pac Chairman Nandala Mafabi (FDC, Budadiri West) confirmed the decision reached at during a weekend meeting in Jinja.
The move, he said, is intended to protect the integrity of the inquiry, which some members have reportedly used to settle personal scores or protect under- fire government officials.
"We don't want politics in accountability," Mr Mafabi said, adding, "Some members had turned into spies and others had personal grudges against some witnesses. We thought this must be stopped immediately because it was going to affect the outcome and the integrity of the committee."
A source at the meeting said contrary to the talk doing the rounds that last week's trouble causers would be shownthe exit, the committee had given them a "second chance". "We wanted to agree on modus operandi because some MPs had become unruly and wanted to take advantage of the situation but they will now be expelled from the committee and they are aware," a source said.
Three members Frank Tunwebaze (NRM, Kibaale), Alex Byarugaba (NRM, Isingiro South) and Florence Kabahweza Hashaka (NRM, Kamwenge) were last week accused of disrupting the inquiry when they heckled as the committee tabled documents linking Foreign Affairs Minister Sam Kutesa to Europecar/Motorcare, the firm that won the bid to supply 144 Chogm cars.
The Auditor General later told the MPs that he had sanctioned the use of the documents. This forced the committee to abandon proceedings prematurely.
Co-opted members
The Jinja meeting, according to sources, also had to deal with a new concern--the fate of co-opted members on Pac.
It emerged that some members wanted the six MPs, who were nominated to temporarily sit on the committee for the purposes of the Chogm investigation, kicked out because "their inclusion was not agreed upon by all members".
The co-opted members are Theodore Ssekikubo (NRM, Lwemiyaga), Henry Banyenzaki (NRM, Rubanda West), David Bahati (NRM, Ndorwa West), Felix Okot Ogong (NRM, Dokolo), Wilfred Niwagaba (Ndorwa East) and Christopher Kibanzanga (FDC, Busongora).
But the "outsiders" led by Ssekikubo deny any wrongdoing and instead accused some of their colleagues of cover-up. The crisis meeting was among others planned to bring back sanity to the investigation days after Government Chief Whip Daudi Migereko reportedly told NRM MPs to disrupt the committee proceedings--an allegation he denied.
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