The drama started in yesterday’s parliamentary session when member of parliament Alinga South Hon. Alioni Odria, revealed to the house that the company that is currently running the struggling Uganda telecom (UTL) is mismanaging it and the government is loosing a lot money. He asked the ministers in-charge to give accountability and explain to the august house the status quo of operations at UTL.
With all the powers you have, can we know this company called Teleology Holdings? How is it operating in Uganda? How is it still there operating after breaching the contract that they signed? the MP asked.
This prompted the Investment Minister Hon. Evlyne Anite to assure the members that its true indeed the government no longer has any control nor does it have any idea of UTL Operations. She further informed the MPs that the government no longer has access to the company premises and thus can’t do any audits or understand how this company is currently run.
I want to tell you am afraid, to announce to the nation that the watchman has denied the owners of property access to the house. We cannot go to UTL to find out what is happening. In other words, we don’t know how much money the company is making. I want to make it very clear that the minister of Finance is concerned and I am also concerned, Anite said.
Anite also added that the they had to call upon the Attorney General, to advise on what government can do as a way forward.
This morning we had a meeting with the Attorney General and he said we should give him time to go and consult the books of law, she added.
The minister also said the government is surprised that everyday many Ugandan nationals are being fired from Uganda Telecom without any hearing at a point that pensioners are asking government to intervene.
As the only minority shareholders in Uganda Telecom, I want to say technically we have lost control, Anite concluded.
All this put the house in a frenzy and some expressed concern and assured government that they sold the company in a mafia way and is run in a mafia style.
Hon. Cecilia Ogwal Woman MP Dokolo said that this is a deliberate defiance of the rules and regulations and the laws of the country and that the government needs to terminate the contract of the current administrator now. Dokolo South MP Hon.Felix Okot Ogong asked why the parliament is being treated like they are a toilet as they make recommendations and nothing is done about it and need to understand all UTL operations.
The Speaker of the house, Hon Rebecca Kadaga asked the MPs to first identify what kind of company Teleology Holdings is, and has promised to give a ruling on Tuesday 25th June– after studying the documents that were presented to her.
The government has 31% shares in UTL operations and the Mauritius based company has 69% shares. According to the documents presented to the house UTL makes UGX 15 billion per month. In July 2018, Mauritius Telecom was the best bidder for UTL and offered $45 million for 69% stakes.
As the major stakeholder in UTL operations, Teleology Holdings received fiscal exemption. It would also use the frequency spectrum of the incumbent operator and be in charge of the management of the national optical fiber infrastructure for 20 years.
Teleology Holdings had to pay a non-refundable amount representing 10% ($7 million) of the agreed amount by the end of November 2018 and pay the rest by January 2019 to conclude the acquisition which was not the case. This breached the contract. The contract clearly states that the government of Uganda reserved the right to cancel the operations and launch a new operation to seek partners if Teleology Holdings does not comply with the financial terms.
