Government is seeking a supplementary funding amounting to 280 billion shillings that will go towards financing the purchase of new aircraft for the revamped Uganda Airlines, parliament has heard. While presenting findings of the parliament’s budget committee yesterday, Ntenjeru North MP, Hon. Amos Lugoloobi observed that it was incumbent to raise these moneys failure of […]
Government is seeking a supplementary funding amounting to 280 billion shillings that will go towards financing the purchase of new aircraft for the revamped Uganda Airlines, parliament has heard.
While presenting findings of the parliament’s budget committee yesterday, Ntenjeru North MP, Hon. Amos Lugoloobi observed that it was incumbent to raise these moneys failure of which the government would incur dire penalties and damages as stipulated in the purchase agreements with Bombardier Inc, the aircraft manufacturing firm.
Lugoloobi says $29.9 million that was earlier passed by parliament to cater for capitalization costs of the airline had been utilized to cater for the purchase of four aircrafts with time running out.
Meanwhile, the passing of the supplementary budget to enable government pay off the balance for the acquisition of two aeroplanes took an interesting twist when MPs heard that 99.9% shares in Uganda Airlines were owned by a single individual.
Last week, the minister for Works and Transport, Monica Ntege Azuba appeared before the committee of the National Economy and sought a supplementary budget of Shs 280 billion for the two aeroplanes – Bombardiers CRJ – 900 Planes.
“We have information that Uganda national airlines is owned by an individual person, a Ugandan. But if we are going to trade under the name of Uganda Airlines as government, are we going to do it in partnership with the owner of Uganda Airlines?” she queried.
Atim Joy Ongom, the Lira Woman MP, said she had heard that Uganda has only 0.001% shares in the venture while the rest 99.9% belongs to powerful individuals in this government.
The minister could not readily provide answers to these queries feeding into the speculation that the shares are owned by a very powerful politician in this country.
The deputy speaker Jacob Oulanyah who chaired the proceeding postponed the sitting to today asking the minister to answer the queries put before her.
The CR 900 Mid range Bombardier planes expected to land at Entebbe airport on April 8 are being manufactured by Canadian based leading multinational Aerospace company, Bombardier Incorporation.
She said Uganda had up to the end of this month to find the money or else the planes will be sold to another firm.
