Ugandans in the business community have for the first time expressed their views on the on going Parliamentary probe into the controversial sale and closure of seven commercial banks by the Central Bank in a period between 1993 and 2017.
Investigation instituted by Parliament’s Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) triggered by Auditor General’s report so far reveal very shocking details on how the seven banks were sold on phone, without due diligence and also without inviting suitable buyers.
The telecasted live proceedings of the probe attracted much public attention from Ugandans mostly lower businessmen and women.
This website thus interviewed a portion of these businessmen and women within the suburbs of Kampala and the neigbouring towns.
Most of them expressing themselves in local language- Luganda- they interrogated the motive behind closure of these commercial institutions particularly Crane Bank, whose services favored the ‘common man.’
Kato Ssemanda, whom we caught up in Wandegeya operates a washing bay. He said his frustration arose from the sudden sale of Crane Bank while he planned to process a loan to help boost his business.
“It is a bank that operated within the means of an ordinary Ugandan. First of all, it was never expensive while opening up an account unlike other corporate banks which require a customer to deposit a certain standard amount,” Mr. Kato said.
Adding that the interest rate for customers to process loans was very friendly.
“My loan application was in the final stages. Until I heard Bank of Uganda had sold the bank to DFCU.”
Dismas a young entrepreneur with a chain of business in Katanga, a ‘filthy’ slum inside Wandegeya applauded legislators for exposing Bank of Uganda officials’ ill motives of selling off the commercial banks.
“All we hear and read in the media is that the people behind the closure of my bank- Crane Bank are very rich. The likes of Bagyenda and Kasekende. I have personally never met them but I have read that they own almost all buildings in Kampala,” Dismas who runs a video library said.
Like Kato, Dsimas said he had hopes of borrowing some money in Crane Bank to expand his business.
“I can’t go to any other bank. The interest rate was insanely hiked,” he said.
Fred Waiswa from Mayuge said he was planning to borrow a school fees loan from Crane Bank at a time of closure.
“The purpose was to educate my sibling. I know in education there is no regret,” he said.
Adding that, the team led by COSASE chairman Abdu Katuntu has done a tremendous job in investigating and exposing corruption at the Central Bank.
By the time of conducting this interview, COSASE members had started interrogating Bank of Uganda officials on sale of Crane Bank.
It had turned out that BoU governor Emmanuel Mutebile and his team had failed to account for shs 487 billion which they claim to have injected in Crane Bank, yet it needed 179 billion to recapitalize its operations.
Further the investigations established how BoU officials had colluded with Crane Bank buyer- DFCU- to hide its bad loan book.
The probe was temporarily halted as Parliament went into festival season. COSASE is expected to resume business once the ‘term extension impasse’ is resolved.
