In 2016- 2021, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni pledged support to scientists to enhance industrialization in Uganda.
The President, well knowing that science plays a vital role in economic transformation, established an innovation fund under National Research and Innovation Programme (NRIF) Framework.
The fund would financially support local scientists who had well-structured projects.
Top on the list of innovators was Tropical Institute of Development Innovation (TRIDI) which has since bagged shs 36 billion since 2018.
TRIDI under the leadership of Clet Wandui Masiga as an executive director and principal investigator invested energies in Sericulture- the art and science of rearing silkworms for production of raw silk and its end product.
The President invested hope in Dr Masiga who pledged that that his project would supply 56 silk factories with raw material.
This would turn out to be a lie.
The funds received (36 billion) from 2018 ended up in pockets of individuals in TRIDI and government, prompting the new Minister of Science and Innovation Dr Monica Musenero to suspend the project after Masiga failed to account for the funds but was continuing to request for more money in the new budget (about shs 42 billion).
The decision to suspend the project has left Musenero at loggerheads with all beneficiaries of this rogue project.
Parliament silent on Shs 2 billion
Dr Musenero returns to Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee tomorrow (Tuesday) to answer queries raised in the Auditor General’s report.
The whole of last week, PAC grilled the Minister but a huge section of the public perceives PAC’s move as sheer witch-hunt to the Musenero.
The highly skilled scientist has many times been crucified, character assassinated and tormented by MPs funded by innovators who feel uncomfortable by Musenero’s working ethics.
This website understands at first PAC alleged that Musenero had misappropriated shs 2 billion extended to Presidential Scientific Initiative on Epidemics (PRESIDE) by the Ministry of Finance.
But the Minister maintained that she had not received that money, and the Permanent Secretary (then) David Obong said Ministry of Finance had released the 2 billion.
However, the Auditor General in his report to Parliament says: “I further noted from the review of MoST’s payment file for the FY 2020/2021 that UGX 2,060,000,000 had been disbursed to Tropical Institute of Development Innovations (TRIDI) as a transfer of 4th quarter of FY 2020/2021 to the subvention for commercialization of Sericulture Technologies on April 20 2021.”
The Auditor General further indicated that the shs 2b had been released on voucher number R226/APR2021 and this money didn’t have any covid related activities and “was not approved for funding under PRESIDE.”
This website has further established that the money was authorized by PS David Obong and Principal Accountant Ibrahim Mukwaya on April 8 2021.
When the Auditor General interviewed Mukwaya he said the payment was authorized for processing as per the memo in line with approval of finance committee as advised by the policy and planning.
Dr Musenero maintained her position that PRESIDE has not received the money from Ministry of Finance.
The Auditor General was unable to interview David Obong the former Permanent Secretary.
What remains shocking is that PAC members are in possession of the Auditor General’s report but whether it’s deliberate to skip the pages where the Auditor General talks about disappearance of the 2 billion remains unknown.
A committee member that has been harsh on Musenero is Hon Nathan Nandala Mafabi who represents Budadili .
Dr Clet Wangui Masiga is Mafabi’s village mate, which probably explains why the opposition honcho is hell-bent on fighting Musenero following her decision to suspend Masiga’s project due to corruption.
