The COSASE Probe exposed the Central Bank and left it’s reputation dented, the Governor Prof. Emmanuel Mutebile has acknowledged.
The BoU 2019 annual report released Wednesday quoted the Governor admitting that whereas the Central Bank has a good accountability culture and does not shy away from being accountable for its expenditures, actions and decisions, the COSASE probe on the closure of 7 commercial Banks soiled the regulator’s image.
“The Bank of Uganda continued to engage the parliamentary Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities, and State enterprises (COSASE) as well as other accountability mechanisms put in place by the Laws of Uganda. Inadvertently, the accountability process has been misconstrued by certain stakeholders leading to an increase in negative sentiment about the institution,” Mutebile explained.
However, Mutebile insists that BoU remains steadfast in upholding transparency and Accountability, integrity, team work, and excellence in fulfilling its obligations.
An investigation into closure of 7 commercial banks conducted by COSASE last year implicated BoU senior staff including Justine Bagyenda, former Executive Director in charge of Supervision.
The Banks include; Teefe Bank (1993), International Credit Bank Ltd (1998), Greenland Bank (1999), The Co-operative Bank (1999), National Bank of Commerce (2012), Global Trust Bank (2014) and Crane Bank Ltd (CBL) in 2016.