Mzee defends his “Presidential Handshake”

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“Do not malign the good people. You know i will defend them because I am the one who gave them the money. You are abusing them, I do not want to hear that anymore.” – President Yoweri Museveni (Daily Monitor, 19.01.2017)

We know by now that you are corrupt and keep your cronies satisfied with crony capitalism and loyal services rendered through paychecks instead of good governance and accountability. Since that has not mattered since 1986. What matters is loyalty to you first and then the knowledge that. That pays off!

They could be similar to Mother Theresa, Jesus and all the other good people, but it is the principal that they get a payout for serving their nation and their republic. That because the Republic won a case against a Petroleum and Oil Drilling Company, which justify the means of transactions to various accounts of different civil servants and leaders in government institutions. It is not abusing them; it is questioning the reason for the increased salary as an effort of awarding without practical procedure. That is what counts Mr. President.

I know it is a hard concept for you to grasp as you see the public coffers and taxes as free fund to salvage as much wealth as possible while you are breathing and leave behind as much property for the next generation of the clan of Museveni to live happily until oblivion. Therefore, a few extra shillings is a small bargain in the end.

I understand why you do not want to hear more about it, it makes you look like a fool. As a fool who allocated funds without proper procedure and spent unwise tax-money that in effect. It seems like a chaotic situation, where you are orders a cash-bonanza. A cash bonanza of free government funds ending up in the pockets of loyal cronies. These funds could been used on government institutions or payed ordinary civil servants salaries. Instead, they are inappropriately gave away to the fellow loyalist in disregard of the public. So I understand why you don’t want hear about that anymore, just like you are happy that people have forgotten about CHOGM monies and other sagas of theft from your administration. Because there are enough tales of maladministration and corrupt behaviour when your been in-charge of steering the wheels. It is well-known and common practice. What was not known before this was that the knowledge of “Presidential Handshake” as a common thing? Certainly, what was we could not know was that you sanctioned these handshakes and gave them away as a rewarding system to keep men and woman loyal to you?

So now matter who you gave this money too. The issue is not the people who got the money. They are “innocent” to a certain degree, but your act of doling the monies away with no regard of the citizens. That is the insulting part of your handshake. That the people have so little value compared to your highly paid elite. If you cannot see that issue, you cannot see anything, because that blinds your efforts and acts of accountability. Which is not something you have flexed since coming into power in the 1980s. Accountability and Transparency is two things you hate… we know it and so do you know very well. Peace.

Mzee gives the government officials double or triple salary rises in the Ministry of Public Service!

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A letter dated from the 12th January 2017 from the Ministry of Public Service is estimating the current salaries and then the new salaries of certain civil servants. These are interesting as the first one mentioned in this letter where the salary of the Chief Justice Bart Mugunda Katureebe who had a salary of 11,560,150 UGX per month in 2016. But from now on he will get the double salary of 20,000,000 UGX per month. Certainly it is service rendered for the positive judgement and also accepting the rigged election results. This means by a full year wage as CJ will earn UGX 260m.

The other lucky guy who gets new pieces of gold every month is his underling, the Deputy Court Justice Stephen Kavuma went from a decent 10,532,581 UGX per month to the gracefully 18,000,000 UGX per month; which is very close to the double salary for his acts against defiance and proven loyalty to the regime. DCJ would then earn in a year’s salary UGX 116m.

Then you have one who walks in the shadow who also got a decent pay rise John Mitala, the Head of Public Service goes from earning 4,952,059 UGX in 2016 to earn the loads of 17,600,000 UGX. Mr Mitala surely has worked his loads of paper to be so well compensated the year after the elections. He gets his new salary increase which can be calculated up to a triple of what the current one is, that means that his current new yearly salary will be about UGX 211m.

Under the well paid Mitala, there is the Deputy Head of Public Service Vincent Opio-Lukone who also deserves recognition it seems by the regime. His meagre monthly salary until now has been UGX 4,099,486. So the government will give him better conditions for his hard work and labour so they raise the salary up to UGX 15,500,000 per month. That means the Deputy Head of Public Service earns per year UGX 186m.

So when all of these men has gotten their pay rise and the key civil servants under the State Minister and Minister of Public Service, the Permanent Secretary Catherine Bitarakwate Musingwiire deserves a rise from the meagre monthly pay UGX 3,768,835. So the Secretary gets a salary to the levels of UGX 15,400,000 per month. Yearly salary will that will be UGX 184m!

So we can see that the National Resistance Movement (NRM) and President Museveni can afford to pay handsome wages to loyal cronies as the “Presidential Handshake” make him dole out more funds on his allies. The regime does what it can to pay for loyalty. This is happening while the government are getting more in debt and troubles with interests on those loans. That is certainly a evil spiral of bad spending government funds. Peace.

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OAG Muwanga reports that the Local Government misuse of public funds, while Court Awards are going unpaid!

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Parts of this has been reported before, but that was as reports of the coverage from Parliament as the Auditor General John Muwanga we’re attending preliminary sessions and delivering OAG Report of 31st December 2016, which is the end of year report from the OAG. That one has stories to tell. Parts of this are known, but they are proving that words in Parliament had other numbers than the report that is released later on online. Still, the vast waste of funds and the unallocated or unaccounted funds proves questionable use of public coffers in the Local Government, the districts, parish and municipalities. These funds are important that is well spent and accounted for, because the funds are supposed to go to local government salaries and investments for the citizens. Therefore the mismanagement of this is thieving or maladministration from the civil servants or the locally elected officials. Take a look!

Outstanding Court Awards:

“Government had outstanding amounts in court awards, compensations and other liabilities totaling to UGX.684Bn as at 30th June 2016. The outstanding amount in Court awards and compensations has been accumulating over the last five financial years raising from 54Bn to now 684Bn. I observed that as a result of government’s failure to pay these court awards on time, the awards have accumulated interest and in some instances the interest has exceeded the principal award. As at the close of the year outstanding interest had accumulated to UGX.175.3Bn” (OAG, P: 12, 2016).

Local Government issues:

“The amount is comprised of UGX .1.310Bn which lacked procurement files, UGX.21.225Bn where there was breach of procurement procedures, UGX .4.695Bn involving inadequate contract management and UGX.0.315Bn of unauthorized contract variations. Conse­quently, it becomes difficult to ascertain whether value for money was achieved” (…) “Expenditure amounting to UGX.3.896Bn was identified as funds unaccounted for. Consequently, I could not confirm that the funds were utilized for the intended purposes. The delayed submission of accountability may also lead to falsification of documents resulting into loss of funds. This was caused by failure of Accounting Officers to enforce accountability controls and lack of an advances ledger to monitor advances” (…) “Regulation 32 of the Local Governments Financial and Accounting Regulations, 2007 requires Councils to ensure collection of all budgeted revenue in an approved manner. Review of revenue performance revealed significant under collection of Local revenue in 161 Councils amounting to UGX.17.165Bn” (OAG, P: 31, 2016). “Out of 307 Local Governments, 148 entities representing 48% of the Local governments lacked land titles for the land where council properties are located. There is a risk that council land is exposed to encroachment and disputes which later leads to litigation in courts of law arising from land disputes between the Councils and the Communities” (OAG, P: 33, 2016).

Here you can see the numbers and it is dozens of Presidential Handshakes, the handshakes of the President could go unaccounted for a dozens of times. That the Government have learned from the Parliament and Central Government is clear, since this is rampant and seems to indicated in many local governments. It cannot be okay that the lacking of documentation and of how the monies where spent. Of how and where the documentations went before the allocation of the funds. That shows malpractice and maladministration in the Local Government. Something that is also evident in the Courts, the Courts hasn’t paid out their awards on time and adds extra interests, which the government have to pay as well. Peace.

Reference:

Office of Auditor General (OAG) – ‘Extracts of the Summary of Key Findings of the Annual Report of the Auditor General for the Year Ended 31st December 2016’ (31.12.2016)

Zimbabwe: Statement on the Introductionof Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 1 of 2016 (11.01.2017)

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The Appointment of Hon. Justice Steven B. K. Kavuma as Deputy Chief Justice of Uganda (13.01.2017)

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Uganda: Withdrawal of the Constitutional Application No. 06 of 2017 (12.01.2017)

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Statement of Uganda Law Society on Interim Order issued in the matter of Sabiti Eric v Attorney General (Constitutional Application No. 6 of 2017 arising out of Consitutional Petition No. 4 of 2017) – (11.01.2017)

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Uganda: “The Judiciary respects that the Parliament to put aside DCJ Kavuma Court Order on the “Presidential Handshake” (11.01.2017)

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Uganda: Clarification on the URA Boss’ visit to Parliament (10.01.2017)

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Opinion: Court Justice Kavuma is a lost soul, as he orders no investigation into the “Presidential Handshake” but Chris Obore says the Parliament motion will go on!

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On the 9th December Court Justice Stephen Kavuma Court Order with Constitutional Application number 07 in the Constitutional Court in Kampala today. What does this order say, that of such importance, this is from the man who during December 2016 was ordering for himself the ability to change his age, so he could work for four more years as Chief Justice. That is length he takes the law into his own and takes decisions.

But earlier in the year during 2016 the Chief Justice Kavuma wrote an Interim Order of 29th April 2016 where he banned the campaign of defiance. So that he is loyalist to the Movement and to the President is clear. There isn’t any indication that is stopping. Because of today the Chief Justice Kavuma ordered this:

“1. An interim order is hereby issued restraining Parliament, any person or authority from investigating, questioning and inquiring into the impugned bonus payments and or staying all proceedings of whatever nature, if any, which may be pending before any forum whatsoever arising from impugned payments, until the main application of No. 06 of 2017 has been determined” (Constitutional Court, 09.01.2017).

We are today seeing a special level of law and understanding of law as the Constitutional Court are banning and ordering the Attorney General John Muwanga who wanted to have an inquiry of the “Presidential Handshake”. The Presidential Handshake that are known in public because of the bonuses and kickbacks given to public servants and others loyal to the Movement. Parts of the ones who we’re parts of the Uganda Revenue Authority and others; which is the URA who won a case against the petroleum drilling companies Tullow Oil and Heritage who has licence to drill in the Lake Albert Basin. Certainly these billions of shillings are questionable as the Court Justice has to do this.

The Constitutional Court is then overriding the Attorney General and the Parliament, the Parliament that has Members of Parliament, who cannot and are not allowed to do their duty to make checks and balances of the use of public funds. This proves that the Government of Uganda doesn’t need accountability or transparency as even the investigations of the Presidential handshake is illegal. But if somebody wants more documents to be leaked; please to do so, we the people and voices for governance can undress these kingpins and the racket called the Movement regime.

The Presidential Handshake is a questionable act that is not following international standards as the URA proclaimed days after. But on the same day as the Court Justice wanted to silence the Republic and be loyal to Mzee, Chris Obore of the Parliament had this to say:

“The Speaker and the Prime Minister discussed parliament business. When the matter of the now controversial oil bonus payments christened “presidential handshake” came up, the Speaker said the motion prepared by some Members of Parliament would be tabled. She advised the Minister concerned to prepare to provide MPs with explanations” (Chris Obore – ‘Press Release” 09.01.2017).

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So Speaker Rebecca Kadaga and PM Ruhakana Rugunda will not listen to the courts, they will have the Parliamentary Session on the Motion filed, even as the Court Order has been set. The same acts happen on the same day and proves that there is different understand on the laws and orders. As when Chief Justice Kavuma we’re banning defiance the Interim Order we’re hold and kept. But now with the Presidential Handshake, the Parliament will defy this and resist the court order. This is proving the power of the courts and also the mismanagement of Uganda. When these cannot work together and honour each other it proves the obstacles of procedures and protocols.

This shows how the need for transparency and accountability in the republic when the Parliament are not following and secondly not in the loop of the courts. The Parliament is creating the laws and the Courts are supposed to use them to sanctions and regulate society. This proves how President Museveni and his regime has built a fragile and fragmented organizations that following his orders, therefore the Presidential Handshake is now not only a question of the ones who was pocketed and gotten ill-gains from the Uganda Revenue Authority, but now it is a legal question for the MPs even to have an inquiry on the matter.

This story is not over, it will continue to walk and soon run, when it is closed or when it is all unravelled. The Presidential Handshake is not over, we’re just waiting for Museveni to shake somebody else hands and give a few more heavy envelopes. Peace.