A Kampala Capital City-based lawyer, Patrick Katabaazi Kiconco, has been ordered to refund the sum of Ugx39 billion that he received from the government to compensate his clients.
According to a report by the Parliamentary Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities, and State Enterprises (COSASE), Katabaazi received the money from National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) to pay tea nursery beds’ farmers.
He has now been ordered by Parliament to refund the money within six months or face prosecution.
The Executive Director (ED) of NAADS, Samuel Mugasi, presented evidence showing how the agricultural body advanced funds to Pathways Advocates in two installments of Ugx 27 billion and Ugx 12 billion.
Eddie Kwizera, the Member of Parliament for Bukimbiri constituency, however, said that, out of the 142 beneficiaries from Kisoro who Kiconco claimed to have paid, the Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry randomly sampled five farmers, but they revealed that they had not received any money.
“Lawyer Katabaazi should be prosecuted for failure to remit money meant for tea operators. He should pay back all the money due to the beneficiaries within six months,” the COSASE report read in part.
Parliament warned government agencies against making payments to beneficiaries through lawyers in order to stop such occurrences in the future.
“Going forward, the government should make all pending payments directly to the beneficiaries,” the COSASE report read.
According to the Auditor General’s report, NAADS advanced Ugx 39 billion to Pathways Advocates to compensate tea nursery bed operators who had sued the government for failure to procure their seedlings.
The report established that Katabaazi obtained Ugx39 billion meant for tea nursery operators and failed to fully remit it.
The COSASE report emphasises that all future pending payments should be made directly to the beneficiaries.
This development follows the arrest order issued by lawmakers in August of this year, based on the misappropriation of Shs39 billion intended for tea farmers as payment from NAADS.
The 2021–2022 Auditor General’s report raised concerns about the lack of evidence indicating that the funds reached the intended beneficiaries.
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