Finance and Energy ministers avoid parliamentary meeting on fuel crisis

The avoiders are the Minister of Finance, Hon. Matia Kasaija and the Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Hon. Ruth Nankabirwa, plus the leadership of the Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC).

The three parties had been summoned to discuss the rising fuel costs in the country, but mainly to establish the extent to which the Jinja fuel storage terminal has been utilised to curb fuel prices as well as the budget requirement to maintain said terminal operating at full capacity.

However, the lawmakers were furious to learn that only the UNOC officials showed up, led by Proscovia Nabbanja the Chief Executive Officer. The Energy Ministry sent a representative, Honey Malinga, acting director in charge of Petroleum, who reported that his superiors were at State House and others out of the country.

“The senior minister [Ms Ruth Nankabirwa] was summoned to State House, while the minister of state for energy [Mr Sidronius Opolot Okaasai] travelled for a summit and the minister of state for mineral development [Mr Peter Teko Lokeris] travelled with part of the MPs to Dar es Salaam,” Malinga said.

The absentees were accused of undermining the work of Parliament, having received the letter with the summons a week ago.

“Honourable members, we are now stuck. I doubt whether we can proceed with this meeting today. Ministers have got a tendency of telling lies; whenever they don’t appear here they say they are at State House and they think we are very stupid. We are going to make our investigations and we shall be shaming them here, because they will not deter us from carrying out our constitutional mandate,” said Joseph Ssewungu, vice chairperson of the committee.

Ssewungu instructed the committee clerk to write the letters to concerned parties summoning them again, for the next committee meeting on Tuesday, July 26 2022.

“I signed those letters and put my mobile telephone number but none of them has called me. This is the second time we are inviting the finance ministry and they do not show up. Mr Kasaija must appear here individually. If he fails we shall use our police to get him,” he added.

Fellow legislators deemed this failure to appear before Parliament as a cowardly way of avoiding their lack of answers and solutions.

“We are moving into a crisis in terms of social unrest, an economic lockdown is looming. We really need to do something. Our parking [Parliament] is full; all Members of Parliament are here. We are basically hiding because we don’t know what to explain to the people in our constituencies. We really need to sit down together and have a way forward,” said Hon. Racheal Magoola, the Bugweri Woman MP.

“I say this with a bleeding heart. As I talk now, I have abandoned my own vehicle in Moyo; I can no longer use it because of the rising fuel cost. If you go to the streets right now, there are no vehicles. We are heading for a serious economic recession; fuel is the engine of the economy. If the ministries of finance and energy do not take this matter seriously, we are in danger,” said Hon. Tom Alero Aza, West Moyo County MP.

However, John Friday, assistant commissioner petroleum supply at the Ministry of Energy, has argued that the fuel situation has not reached critical levels where government action is needed.