Right in the middle of the ongoing saga of the Chogm billions scandal, an internal quarrel within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs over a plan to sale Uganda's embassy buildings in the American capital of Washington DC, is raising old nightmares about rent seeking behaviour of public officials, say critics.

Uganda's property in Washington, initially acquired in 1964 by former President Dr Apollo Milton Obote has been on the asset column of the country for almost as long as it has been independent. However, a plan is currently underway within the upper floors of the Foreign Ministry and the Chancery in Washington headed by Ambassador Perezi Kamunanwire to force a sale. This sale is going ahead in spite of express objections issued by Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (Pac) when it visited the US in 2009.

"I objected to it (the plans to sale the embassy chancery building), and it is illegal. I recommended that they be maintained to save on rental costs," Pac chairman Nandala Mafabi told Sunday Monitor yesterday.

According to correspondence made available to Sunday Monitor, Mr Kamunanwire and his superiors say the sale is justifiable because the Embassy is allegedly in a bad neighbourhood, out of the diplomatic security ring and far from other embassies clustered along Washington DC's Embassy Row where most diplomatic missions in Washington are.

Diplomatic corridor

A letter on March 3 addressed to Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary James Mugume written by Mr Kamunanwire argues that the embassy property located on 16th Street was "disadvantageous for us in dealing with clients who wish to transact business in the same diplomatic corridor". He also cites security concerns stating that the building is located outside the "mandatory coverage by the diplomatic secret service and therefore leaves the security of the chancery mainly in the hands of local police".

" Partly due to this we have had incidences of insecurity on the property itself like the theft of the official vehicle in 2006 and mugging of one of our members of staff," he says adding that the property itself is old and its sale would help finance a new home along Embassy Row.

However, Sunday Monitor separately heard that one of the properties which Mr Kamunanwire proposes to purchase as a replacement is actually much older having been built in 1900 and is presently being used as a temple.

Ambassador Mugume in a 20 minute phone interview on Friday morning supported the arguments in favour of selling only adding that he had written to Edgar Agaba, the head of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority (PPDA) to ensure that proper procedures are followed.

"I do not want to go through the trouble of the Public Accounts Committee," he said about the ministry's recent political troubles over the Chogm probe. He also said that a sale of property in the UK mission had been reversed by President Yoweri Museveni after it did not comply with the rules.

Besides the Chogm probe, MOFA has run afoul of Parliament over its assumption of control of all Ugandan properties abroad arguing successfully that the risk posed to them from so-called "vulture funds" was too great.

Vulture funds are private debt financiers who can attach the property of governments abroad to recover debt it owes to other states or companies. This move was unpopular with Parliament with MP's arguing that there was evidence that the ministry was a bad caretaker of its present properties and that evidence of graft or even criminal conduct was present in some of its transactions.

The committee on Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises, headed by MP. Reagan Okumu (FDC, Aswa) has in some cases argued that placing Ugandan properties under charge the political supervision of Foreign Minister Sam Kutesa and junior minister Isaac Musumba, was a bad idea given that the two ministers previously served in the Ministry of Finance where their record on government transactions raised serious concerns.

"There are always two sides to this. Those who want to sale and those who do not," said Mr Mugume yesterday about the Washington properties. This is true. Opponents of the sale, who could not be publicly identified because they still work for the government, say the thin veil of, officialise accompanying the sale is meant only to justify it.

They also argue that commissions are up for grabs in this sale. In his letter of March 3, Mr Kamunanwire identifies a Ugandan real estate agent, one Baka Kasule, and announces that through the agent's efforts a building had been identified at 2025 Embassy Row. The cost of that property is close to $5 million (more than Shs10 billion) in addition to re-modelling costs he said of over $700,000 (Shs14 million).

It is unclear how Mr Kasule was selectede. If sold, Mr Kamunanwire says, the Chancery properties could fetch the country at least $1.6 million that he says would be used as a down payment for a new place.

The danger in making part payments, however, according to other sources is that in the American system properties that are not fully owned do not benefit from diplomatic immunity and as such are that much more susceptible to being attached. The initiative of Mr Kamunanwire, critics point out, is also hurried and over-estimates the value of Uganda's mission in America.

The government, despite the Embassy there has outsourced some of its functions to the Whitaker Group of Companies, a lobby firm whose current contract runs to the end of the year - at a cost of $1 million. Those with knowledge of the conduct of Ugandan foreign policy also say often the Ugandan embassy is sidestepped in Kampala's dealings with Washington- and acts almost only as an address.

In a meeting attended by this reporter in October 2007 local Ugandan residents were openly hostile to Ambassador Kamunanwire complaining that the mission was not helpful. The notion that the government would then acquire a building for millions of dollars, say opponents to the sale, is farfetched.