The State Minister of Finance, Evelyn Anite, has written to Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) Executive Director, Robert Mukiza, saying she had forgiven him for statements he made before President Museveni.

The Minister, however, insisted the authority’s top management must refund the Shs 545m honoraria drawn from the Namanve Industrial Park Project Loan. 

“You must recall that you accepted responsibility for authorizing the honoraria payment to yourself and your staff and agreed to refund the funds, which were intended for the project’s development. You even put this commitment in writing (letter Ref: UIA/DG/044/06/24 dated 14th June 2024 attached), requesting for the account details from the Contractor, Lagan Dott Namanve Ltd so that you can refund the money in question,” said Anite in her letter to UIA, dated July 3, 2024.

She added: “However, I was taken aback when, in an attempt to deflect from the misuse of funds, you accused me of being driven by personal motives as I was fulfilling my duty as a Minister accountable for ensuring transparent investment practices.”

“Hearing your (Mukiza) allegations before the Fountain of Honor, I was deeply disappointed and in disbelief by your betrayal and unprecedented lies. Your actions reminded me of the two stories in the Bible, Genesis 39:7-20 “Joseph and Potiphar’s wife – where false accusations led to undeserved consequences”, and John 1:37 “Jesus wept for the death of his friend Lazarus and resurrected him”. Indeed, I also wept,” Anite told Mukiza.

During the Entebbe State House meeting on June 19, 2024, Mukiza disclosed to Museveni that Anite spearheaded the notion that Sheikh Muhammad Bin Juma Al Maktoum was a ‘fake’ UAE prince. 

Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum, who also doubles as the chairman of Alpha MBM Investments LLC, is expected to invest in a 60,000 Barrel Per Day Oil Refinery, a Fruit Processing Hub in Bukalasa, a Logistics Hub at Entebbe International Airport, and a Gold Refinery and Freezone Complex in Entebbe.

“This assertion was incorrect,” said Anite.

“My actions regarding this Arab Investor were strictly in line with performing my duty of due diligence,” she added.

Anite recently contacted Uganda’s Ambassador to UAE, Zaake Kibedi over reports that the Prince was not a member of the ruling royal family of the Emirate of Dubai.

At the time, sections of the online media had reported that the Prince was not a member of the UAE royal family. However, UAE officials reaffirmed that he was a close member of the ruling family and wealthy businessman.

“I got a response from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” said Anite, referring to a letter dated June 11, 2024 from Zaake Kibedi.

She added: “This was to ensure the legitimacy and integrity of the investment.”

According to Anite, Mukiza also told President Museveni that the Minister had a personal interest in the acquisition of land for the establishment of a solid waste water treatment plant, SME park and campsite.

In her letter to Mukiza, Anite said she was surprised by his remarks about the land acquisition “despite the fact that we held meetings with the UIA Management and the Board of Directors, agreed on actions to be taken and nominated a team to negotiate the purchase of this land. This statement was also false.”

“You are well aware that my involvement and stance on this land issue was guided by professional judgment and the best interest of the projects, not by personal gain or conflict,” she emphasized.

ChimpReports understands that during the meeting, President Museveni tasked the Finance Ministry to prepare for him a report on whether “giving government workers honoraria is the best practice going forward.” 

He also asked Anite to “forgive” Mukiza.

“Following H. E. the President’s advice, once again, I forgive you for your allegations and encourage you to reflect on this situation to seek solace and peace from your Church/Bishop and I leave you with this Bible verse, Acts 3:19 “Repent then and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,” said Anite in her letter to Mukiza.

“Because I was deeply troubled in spirit, that people like you have abandoned their integrity and cast aside their shame choosing to lie before God and the Fountain of Honor.”

She, however, reiterated that “my actions regarding the resolution and refunding of the UGX 545,497,331, illegal honoraria payments from the project funds (loan) was entirely professional, driven by my accountability as a Minister responsible for overseeing the infrastructure development projects at KIBP.”

“This matter was never personal, but rather a fulfillment of my duty to ensure transparency and proper use of project funds. And therefore I insist that you and your staff must refund the taxpayers money for the project,” said the Minister.

UIA Speaks out

UIA recently said upon Termination of the Owner’s Engineer (OE) on 29thAugust 2022, additional responsibilities were assigned to the Project Management Team (PMT) assisted by some UIA staff to bridge the gap in the supervision of the infrastructure development, at KIBP.

“The project manager, Infrastructure development at Kampala Industrial and Business Park, Namanve Project in consultation with the Director General, Uganda Investment Authority made a proposal to the UIA Board of Directors who sat considered and approved that UIA Management considers remunerating the staff for their additional responsibilities, and guided to execute it within the law,” said Mukiza. 

UIA argued that the project management team staff were assigned roles and responsibilities of the Owner’s Engineer to supervise the Project and the terms of reference were the staff’s deliverables which were beyond their employment duties and therefore extraordinary.

UIA Management further said it considered section 3.28 of the Human Resource Manual, on the applicable allowance in line with the Employer’s Project Governance and management structure.

Nevertheless, Anite said she would continue to work together with UIA’s top management.

“I look forward to working together with Uganda Investment Authority with no corruption and no impunity for the social economic transformation, industrialization and job creation for Ugandans,” she observed.