By Joseph Kiggundu
Members on the Parliamentary Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) are up in arms over Shs 140 billion loan guarantee that the Bank of Uganda (BOU) extended to HABA Group nine years ago but has not been recovered todate.
COSASE deputy chairperson George Musisi said the Ministry of Finance directed Bank of Uganda to guarantee the Shs 140 billion loan borrowed by HABA Group through a letter of comfort, and that the debt has remained outstanding for nine years without repayment, raising serious questions about accountability.
He said the committee has a responsibility to scrutinise the matter, establish the facts, and ensure that taxpayers’ money is accounted for.
The money is linked to the compensation of businessman Hassan Basajjabalaba and companies associated with him, following government’s cancellation of leases he had obtained to manage several Kampala markets and Constitutional Square.
The amount is recorded under Note 36 of Bank of Uganda’s financial statements and was again flagged in the Auditor General’s report for the 2024/25 financial year.
During the committee’s engagement with Bank of Uganda officials, COSASE chairman Muwada Nkunyingi pressed the central bank’s Head of Legal, Dorothy Masifa Ochola, to establish who stands behind HABA Group.
“Who are the shareholders or directors of HABA Group?” Nkunyingi asked.
Ochola first told the committee that she could not immediately confirm the full ownership structure but later revealed that it is the Basajjabalaba family.
“To the best of my knowledge, they are members of the Basajjabalaba family. The company (HABA Group) dealt with several commercial banks and then the matter was escalated by commercial banks to the government for support. Court resolution is one of the options we have been looking at but the primary resolution we have been looking at is to get the support of the ministry of finance to resolve it as we receive instruction to provide the guarantee from the government,” she said.
MPs on the committee faulted Bank of Uganda for appearing before them without comprehensive documentation on the guarantee, including details of the due diligence conducted before it was issued, the security obtained from HABA Group, and correspondence exchanged with the Ministry of Finance over recovery efforts.