By Juma Nsubuga
Members of the NRM parliamentary caucus have held a caucus meeting at state house Entebbe to discuss several issues regarding business in parliament.
According to the invitations to NRM members of parliament sent by the chief whip Justine Kasule Lumumba, members were requested to carry their reports on Dura cement, Jinja Bugiri road compensation and the Adhoc committee on the energy sector which are all scheduled to be debated at the floor of parliament in tomorrow’s session.
The source attending the caucus meeting in Entebbe said that members are expected to come out with a position on how to handle the debate on the highlighted issues that are currently before parliament awaiting debate.
The report on Dura cement compiled by the Public Accounts Committee exposes the dirt involved in the cancellation of a mining lease that cost tax payers 43.5 billion shillings.
The report, which was tabled before parliament by the Public Accounts Committee vice chairperson Maxwell Akora last week at the floor of parliament implicates senior government officials, including the President who is said to have had a Central role in taking a decision to cancel a mining lease that had been awarded to Dura Cement Ltd in 2007.
According to the report, President Museveni ordered the termination of the contract for Dura cement and instead asked that it goes to Lafarge/Hima Cement, a matter that resulted into a law suit for breach of contract by Dura, hence leading to government to lose 43.5 billion shillings in compensation.
Whereas the President earlier told the public accounts committee that he ordered the cancellation based on economic and strategic reasons, the report urges that the cancellation was uncalled for.
The committee report further recommended that Parliament tells the President to desist from gifting critical national resources to so-called investors free of charge and without following the due process.
The report also advises President Museveni to respect technical advice given by government technocrats instead of relying on briefs from unofficial sources.
