By Patriot Corps
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Ramathan Ggoobi, has blocked Dr. Aminah Zawedde, the ICT Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, from accessing Shs 6.7 billion of Non-Tax Revenue (NTR) collected by the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC). This action was taken to prevent potential misuse of funds.
UCC collects levies from telecommunication operators such as MTN and Airtel, partially funding the ICT Ministry’s activities. In September 2023, Zawedde requested permission from Ggoobi to utilize Shs 6.7 billion collected by UCC. However, Ggoobi denied the request, citing a “confirmed risk of duplication.”
Ggoobi explained that Zawedde’s request indicated that the activities intended to be funded by the NTR were already included in the Ministry’s annual work plan for FY 2023/24. Upon reviewing the work plan, it was revealed that these activities were part of the Vote Work Plan, already funded under the main budget appropriated by Parliament.
In his letter to Zawedde, Ggoobi emphasized, “Given that your Vote’s budget for 2023/24 was approved based on the outputs and activities in the workplan, clearing the request to use NTR for the same interventions will result in duplication.”
Sources indicate ongoing struggles between the Finance Ministry and Zawedde over suspicious transactions. Notably, Zawedde had spent over Shs 400 million on vehicle repairs within three months, raising concerns. For example, in December 2021, UCC funds were used to pay Shs 15.1 million for the maintenance of vehicle UG 0045N, followed by another Shs 18 million for servicing the same vehicle in February 2022.
Ggoobi cited Section 29 2(a) and (3) of the Public Finance Management Act 2015, which mandates all NTR allocations to be integrated into the medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF), with collections remitted to the Consolidated Fund. Ggoobi stated, “The request for UCC to pay for certain activities to be implemented by the Ministry undermines the intention of ensuring efficient and transparent utilization of NTR by Votes.”
President Museveni was reportedly informed about Zawedde’s suspicious requests for funds and advised a forensic investigation into the ICT Ministry’s payments from 2021 to 2023. This revelation comes amid scrutiny over the Ministry’s procurement of a Toyota Land Cruiser from Cadam Enterprises for nearly a billion shillings.
In defense, the Ministry released a statement denying spending Shs 965 million on a single vehicle, clarifying that “two vehicles were procured, not one” without disclosing individual costs. These vehicles were registered as UG 0057N and UG 0058N, with the latter being Zawedde’s official car.
Nelson Senyange, a city car dealer and professional mechanic, expressed shock at the Ministry’s spending, stating, “Government buys duty-free cars and it paid $130,000 for a duty-free car. The same car is sold at the authorized dealer for $130,000 with duty paid and comes with a manufacturer’s warranty.”
Additionally, public service standing orders restrict Permanent Secretaries from acquiring vehicles above 3,000cc, while Zawedde’s purchased Toyota Land Cruiser LC 300 VX has a 3346cc engine, typically reserved for higher-ranking officials.
Zawedde’s contract as PS ICT Ministry expired on June 31, 2024. The Public Service Commission is currently assessing her performance to advise President Museveni on contract renewal. This investigation is part of broader efforts to tackle corruption, with several government officials and lawmakers recently jailed over related offenses. Last month, Trade Ministry Permanent Secretary Geraldine Ssali was charged with causing financial loss and conspiring to steal cooperatives’ funds.