The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovations, Dr. Monica Musenero has been put under the spotlight and is facing a parliamentary investigation that was launched after she was accused of misappropriating Shs 31 billion given to her ministry to develop and manufacture Covid-19 vaccines.
This accusation was made by Hon Yona Musinguzi, MP for Ntungamo Municipality who appeared together with the minister before the select probe committee.
The committee was chaired by Xavier Kyooma who said the committee and Parliament had documentation to the effect that the Presidential Scientific Initiative on Epidemics (PRESIDE) was given Shs 17 billion by the President to procure equipment for research and operations in that line but the money was instead used to purchase idle equipment.
Accordingly, during the probe Kyooma revealed that the minister had said that PRESIDE didn’t receive any money.
The committee went on to request Dr. Musenero to account for the resources she had received and why she was making a requisition for a supplementary budget.
“Her question is, you haven’t utilized the funds appropriated to you for this financial year, if you haven’t utilized those funds, why would you want more funds to be appropriated in the supplementary?” asked Kyooma.
“Chair we will respond in writing. But as we mentioned, one of the vaccines is at stage 7. You cannot stop some steps because some of the things we use very delicate.
We have small mice we buy; one mouse costs Shs 8 million because they are very special. Now once you start an experiment on them, you can’t pause because you don’t have funds,” responded Dr. Musenero.
President Museveni who appointed Dr.Musenero Minister of Science and Innovations in June, had earlier on promised to deal with whoever dared to fight his scientist at Kololo Grounds where the World Science Week celebrations were being held.
This was a day after Parliament had resolved to constitute a “special committee” to look into the Minister’s mismanagement of Shs. 31 billion meant to facilitate the development of a local Covid-19 vaccine.
Yona Musinguzi had alleged in a legislators’ sitting that the minister had instead mismanaged the funds given to her and rather invested in a company that employs her son and husband.
The said company is a firm Musinguzi says Dr. Musenero invited onboard called PRESIDA which is under Musenero’s directorship.
“It is not registered anywhere but it is accessing huge amounts of money,” Musinguzi said claimed.
After presenting a number of documents he claimed contained incriminating evidence against the Doctor, Musinguzi requested for security as he feared the information he had shared would put his life in danger.
The Deputy Speaker, Rt Hon Anita Among, who chaired the House for the sitting granted his request.
Prior to her appointment as minister, Dr. Monica Musenero was Uganda’s Senior Presidential Advisor on Epidemics.