Anita Among, the Speaker of Parliament, has appointed a seven-person select committee to look into the National Social Security Fund’s operations.
Mwine Mpaka, a member of Parliament from Mbarara South, will serve as the group’s chair.
Karim Masaba, MP for Mbale City Industrial Division; Micheal Kakembo, MP for Entebbe Municipality; Fortunate Nantongo, MP for Kyotera Woman; Charles Bakkambuli, MP for Workers; Amos Kankunda, MP for Rwampara County; and Laura Kanushu, National Woman Representative for People with Disabilities, are the other committee members.
The terms of reference mandate the committee to investigate any matters incidental to it, including corporate governance structures at NSSF, circumstances surrounding the appointment of the Managing Director, the status and security of savers’ money, the degree of stakeholder involvement in decision-making, and any other matters.
Wednesday afternoon during plenary, Thomas Tayebwa, the deputy speaker of Parliament, announced the select committee members.
Following a speech by the Minister of Gender, Labour, and Social Development, Betty Amongi, about the recent developments at the Fund, Parliament decided last week to appoint a select committee to look into the NSSF’s operations.
The former Managing Director Richard Byarugaba’s tenure expired at the end of November 2022. The speaker instructed the Minister to address suspicions of wrongdoing at the Fund in her letter criticizing the decision to reappoint him.
The selection of Byarugaba to a second five-year term was approved by the NSSF Board, which Dr Peter Kimbowa chaired.
To avoid any managerial gaps that would endanger the workers’ funds, Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja urged Amongi to move forward with the appointment “as suggested by the Board.”
Amongi objected to the action and demanded a probe of the former MD’s actions while working for the Fund. She accused him of mismanaging investments and abusing his position.
According to a decision made by the Board of directors, she ordered that investigations be completed within two months.
Members’ funds are safe and invested in fixed assets, equities, and real estate, according to Amongi’s declaration to Parliament.
Despite President Yoweri Museveni’s and the NSSF Board’s recommendations for Byarugaba and his deputy Patrick Ayota’s reappointment, she claimed that several petitions had been submitted to the President, Prime Minister, the Coordinator of Operations Wealth Creation (OWC), the Inspector General of Government (IGG), and herself.
According to Amongi, the petitions led to several stakeholder meetings, including the one she mentioned in a letter she wrote to the NSSF Board Chairperson on December 7, 2022, which compelled the Board to refer the concerns raised to IGG for further examination.
According to the Minister, inquiries that called for a forensic audit were sent to the Auditor General. In contrast, questions that had the potential for impropriety, abuse of power, or corruption were forwarded to the Inspectorate of Government, requesting that their conclusions be made public within 60 days.
Olive Beti Kamya, the Inspector General of Government (IGG), responded that the NSSF investigations have not yet concluded.
Additionally, Amongi gave the legislature an explanation of why she and the NSSF Board met with Gen. Salim Saleh, the Coordinator of Operations for Wealth Creation (OWC), to discuss the management of the Fund.
To be clear, the Minister said, “Suffice to say that the meeting I refer to, of the Board’s visit to meet Gen. Salim Saleh in Kapeeka on December 6, 2022, had the intention of determining how a private industrial park with a large number of employees can inform strategies for the Fund to enrol these as members and contributors of NSSF as well as other strategic issues in line with the Fund’s mandate.