The Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) has asked the government to halt a payment of about Shs52 billion allegedly linked to the Presidential Advisory Committee on Exports and Industrial Development (PACEID), deepening a dispute between Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba and PACEID chief Odrek Rwabwogo.
The demand was made by Kasambya County MP Daudi Kabanda, the executive secretary to Gen Muhoozi, during a press conference in Kampala. Kabanda said he was communicating a position directed by Gen Muhoozi.
The dispute follows Gen Muhoozi’s recent statement on X describing PACEID as an illegal entity.
Rwabwogo, who marries Muhoozi’s sister Patience, has rejected the claim, saying PACEID was created by President Museveni and has not been disbanded.
Kabanda said government ministries, departments, agencies and local governments should suspend dealings with PACEID until questions about its creation, staffing, financing and accountability are answered.
He said although the president has powers to create, abolish or merge government institutions, such bodies must have clear arrangements for staffing, financing, governance and accountability.
“The country needs to know who appointed him as the chairman of PACEID,” Kabanda said, while also questioning who its accounting officer is, who employs its staff, who pays for its offices and where its financial reports are submitted.
Kabanda also questioned PACEID’s role in appointing trade envoys, arguing that Uganda’s foreign relations are handled through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its diplomatic missions.
He further alleged that Finance Ministry officials were preparing to pay about Shs52 billion, to Rwabwogo or a company associated with him over a transaction involving helicopters and other supplies allegedly made to South Sudan.
That allegation could not independently be verified by Bbeg Media.
Rwabwogo has defended PACEID, saying it was established on March 16, 2022, to expand markets for Ugandan exports and was later placed under the Office of the President.
He said President Museveni had told him that no decision had been made to terminate the committee.
Rwabwogo said PACEID has worked on export markets, food safety, standards, transport infrastructure and financing for exporters. He said Uganda’s exports had risen from about $4.5 billion after the Covid-19 pandemic to about $13 billion.
The disagreement led to the detention of Matthew Bagonza, who heads the PACEID secretariat by unknown security personnel. Rwabwogo has called for due process, saying any allegations against Bagonza should be handled by a competent court.
