The Trade Ministry Permanent Secretary Geraldine Ssali has been arrested and transferred to Anti-Corruption Court.
Ssali had earlier been summoned by police over the mismanagement of funds meant for compensation of cooperatives associations’ losses during previous wars in Uganda.
The State today charged Ssali with causing financial loss and conspiring with Members of Parliament to steal cooperatives’ cash.
Parliament’s October 2023 report sanctioned by Speaker Anita Among on 25 August 2023 faulted Saali’s Ministry for making fraudulent payments totalling 48.77 billion Shillings worth of compensation paid between FY 2019/2020 and 2022/2023 either in excess or completely outside the amounts allocated to specific Cooperatives in the Ministry’s work plan.
The Committee cited Cooperatives that were illegally paid including Lambuli Central Pulpery Cooperative Society 4.70 billion; Jinja Multipurpose Cooperative Society Ltd 4.8 billion; Buyaka Cooperative Society 3.5 billion; Masaaba Cooperative Union 5 billion; Bumwambu Cooperative Society Ltd 6 billion; Masaka Cooperative Union by 7 billion and Bwavumpologoma Growers Cooperative Union Ltd 2.75 billion.
Among others, the Committee also recommended that Ssali be investigated by the DPP with the view of prosecution under Section 79 of the Public Finance Management Act, 2015 for unlawfully authorizing 1.74 billion Shillings payment of Okoro Coffee Growers Cooperative Union Limited in Zombo before its verification.
