The Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) chaired by Bugweri County MP Abdu Katuntu will next week meet shareholders of seven commercial banks which were closed by the Central Bank.
The owners are expected to expound on what led to the closure or sale of their banks.
The investigative committee will begin begin with former shareholders of National Bank of Commerce (NBC) and Teefe Bank together with Nile River Acquisition Company (NRAC).
NRAC, is an inexistent offshore company sourced by Bank of Uganda to purchase to buy the assets and liabilities after the closure of International Credit Bank Ltd (1998), Greenland Bank (1999) and the Co-operative Bank (1999).
Prime Minister Dr Ruhakana Rugunda, Governor Tumusiime Mutebile, former Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi, and businessman Amos Nzeyi are the former shareholders of NBC who ware expected to appear before COSASE.
MPs will then meet former shareholders of International Credit Bank (ICB), Cooperative Bank, Crane Bank Ltd and dfcu -the bank which took over the assets and liabilities of both Global Trust Bank (GTB) and Crane Bank.
The committee will also hold meetings with the BoU Board of Directors and technocrats from the Finance ministry.
BoU officials are expected to respond to what Ms Justine Bagyenda, the former director of Supervision for Commercial bank, testified about the closure of banks last December.
Lawyers from Masembe, Makubuya, Adriko, Karugaba & Ssekatawa (MMAKS Advocates) will also be quizzed to explain how much BoU paid them as legal fees for several cases involving the closed banks.
MMAKS will also be required to clear the air over whether BoU hired them as transaction advisers in the disputed Crane Bank takeover at a fee of $251,045 (about Shs943.3m).
In handpicking MMAKS, MPs have already warned that Ms Bagyenda usurped the powers of the legal department by taking over the drafting of the terms of engagement between BoU and MMAKS.
With BoU failing to produce documents spelling out the terms of engagement, MPs have questioned why the bank opted to use external lawyers instead of its own legal team.
Meanwhile, Speaker Rebecca Kadaga has ruled that the committee has up to February 22 to complete investigations, table a report and handover to incoming chairperson Mubarak Muyangwa.
(Daily Monitor)
