The Uganda Airlines board members have asked Parliament to lock out the media from covering further probes against the company as a safeguard to bad press that may endanger its future prospects.
In a letter dated August 22, 2022, the Board Chairperson of the Uganda National Airlines Company Limited – UNACL, Priscilla Mirembe Serukka, gives this as a response to an invitation to appear before the Parliament’s Public Accountability Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authority and State Enterprises – COSASE on Thursday.
Serukka says the aviation industry is highly sensitive and as such some discussions, if made public, can be construed to mean that the airline can never be trusted, thus endangering its future viability.
“Pursuant to this, I request that all further meetings of the Airline with your esteemed Committee should be held without the Press to limit damage to the entire airline,” reads Mirembe’s letter.
Mirembe further requested the Committee to reschedule the meeting with them to a later date because the Board will be conducting an ‘Ordinary Board Meeting’ on Thursday, August 25, 2022, to ‘consider matters of the company that have time frames and cannot be postponed.’
But Hashim Sulaiman, the Nebbi Municipality Member of Parliament, opposed the Board’s request arguing that Uganda Airlines is funded by the taxpayers’ money and all dealings of the entity must be held public to enforce transparency and accountability.
Nancy Achora, the Lamwo District Woman Representative, echoed Sulaiman’s views on the exclusion of the media saying it sets bad precedent to other entities that should spend tax payers’ hard-earned money with transparency.
In a related development, the anticipated meeting slated for this morning, Tuesday, at 10:00 am between the Committee and the Airlines’ top management under the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jenifer Bamuturaki did not take place after the CEO failed to show up, citing overriding priorities.
Michael Kaliisa, the Uganda Airlines Quality Assurance Manager, shocked the MPs when he explained that Bamuturaki and top management officials were engaged in pre-planned activities of the Company that coincided with the meeting and therefore could not be in attendance.
Joel Ssenyonyi, the Committee Chairperson, issued a summon for Bamuturaki requiring her to mandatorily appear before the Committee at 10:00 am on Wednesday or risk an arrest warrant to be forcefully produced by the Police to answer to the emerging queries.
Ssenyonyi further accused Bamuturaki of contempt of Parliament, adding that she did not sign her purported letter dated August 19, 2022, and instead the letter was undersigned on her behalf by the messenger, Kaliisa, who delivered the document at 10:25 am, 25 minutes after the meeting had started.
The Committee is investigating the Airlines company following irregularities that Auditor General John Muwanga raised in his report for the Financial Year 2020/2021 that relates to lack of job grades, strategic plan, poor management of contract files, and breach of procurement guidelines.
Notably, the preliminary findings of the Committee have pinned down Bamuturaki, and other senior officers for lack of integrity and prerequisite qualifications to steer successful operations of the national flagship and cargo carrier.
