The Minister of Trade, Francis Mwebesa, has suspended David Ebiru, the Executive Director of the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS), for six months.
The suspension comes after numerous allegations which manifested on Tuesday as law makers on Cosase examined UNBS queries by the Auditor General Mr John Muwanga in his FY2021/2022 report.
“In light of the serious allegations against you, you are hereby directed to step aside for a period of six months with effect from 20 July 2023 to enable sufficient investigations into your misappropriation of funds, misconduct, and abuse of office”, in part reads a statement from the letter.
The Chairperson of the Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE), Joel Ssenyonyi. Ssenyonyi urged Ebiru to comply with the suspension, so as to allow smooth flow of business at UNBS. He also expressed concern that any interference by Ebiru could affect the Bureau’s mandate of ensuring minimum standards of goods that Ugandans consume.
“You people are in charge of quality control of the commodities we consume. So, when you seem not to be orderly and there is all this chaos, we are thinking, what standards are you keeping? We get worried about what we consume. Because ultimately, it could harm us, so sort out your house, that is the bottom line,” Ssenyonyi said.
The probe revealed that Ebiru had engineered the transfer of funds in question from the Pre-Export Verification of Conformity (PvoC) suppliers account to a Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) gain account, which is delegated for UNBS donor funds.
The suspension of Ebiru is a blow to the UNBS, which is responsible for ensuring the quality of goods and services in Uganda. The Bureau has been criticized in recent years for failing to effectively carry out its mandate. The suspension of Ebiru is an opportunity for the UNBS to start fresh and to rebuild public confidence.
Ebiru went against his previous confession of bribing the Board with 100m saying he did it out of anger.