By Mulengera Reporters
The war sparked by workers unions’ insistence to have Gender PS Pius Bigirimana remain on the UMEME governing board will apparently not be ending soon.
Whereas Deputy AG Mwesigwa Rukutana has written a legal opinion advising it would be illegal to reject Bigirimana membership, UMEME Board Chairman thick-skinned Patrick Bitature maintains that the controversial Gender Ministry boss is unwelcome because the rest of the shareholders rejected Bigirimana (calling him scandalous) in a very clear lawfully-taken vote taken during their duly convened Annual General Meeting (AGM).
He explains that whereas at 23.2%, NSSF is a major shareholder, it’s wishes have to be subordinated to those of other shareholders who hold the remaining 76.8% shareholding in the company.
Renowned for his excellent legal opinions, Uganda Law Society President Simon Peter Kinobe has sided with Bitature. Kinobe explains that NSSF would only have absolute powers to insist on forcefully having their Bigirimana there if they held clear majority shareholding of 51% in the company which isn’t the case.
This means that Bigirimana, in whose favor the President had in October last year wrote directing his inclusion ostensibly to guard workers interests, will have to find something else to do.
As head of the much-respected ULS, Kinobe says the fact that other shareholders (holding 51% in total) have ganged up and said no to Bigirimana, there is legally nothing that can be done to alter that status quo.
Kinobe also wonders why NSSF, which is entitled to two representatives on the Board including Ms Florence Mawejje who is already in, doesn’t take the option to nominate someone else other than Bigirimana.
NSSF Board Chairman Patrick Kaberenge too seems to have cracked and is now acquiescing to calls to find someone else to represent the Fund on the Board rather than Pius Bigirimana.
Kaberenge admits that having 23% shareholding doesn’t mandate NSSF to force anyone onto the UMEME board once the majority shareholders exercise their right to object.
He says as investors they can only advise and they are going to nominate someone else and send the name afresh to UMEME. Bitature says whereas they respect Rukutana’s opinion, they aren’t bound to follow it because it’s based on wrong facts making it defective and imprudent for them to abide by it.
Bigirimana is quoted in today Monday’s Daily Monitor as saying he isn’t dying to sit on the UMEME board. He says he has better things to do including being PS Gender and being spokesperson for the ILO Standards Setting Committee on the African continent.
He sarcastically says: “UMEME is a small thing” adding it’s the stakeholders who wanted him to represent workers interests on the UMEME Board.
Indeed, eminent trade union leader Usher Owere whose NOTU previously petitioned the President resulting into his October 2018 directive corroborates Bigirimana’s claim by saying being PS for the relevant Ministry, he is the best suited to articulate their issues as workers on the UMEME Board.
In April 2018, Bigirimana’s name was tabled for ratification but UMEME shareholders during the subsequent AGM went up in arms saying they weren’t comfortable having him serve as a none executive member on their Board.
They made reference to the 2012 Shs21bn scandal that hit the OPM at a time Bigirimana was PS there. Former Principal Accountant the stinking rich Geoffrey Kazinda was subsequently put on trial and convicted for fraudulent acts which Bigirimana subsequently wrote about in his book profiling his unsuccessful efforts to fight corruption while as PS at the OPM.
President Museveni later defended Bigirimana and even declined calls by Parliament for sanctions and transferred him to Gender where he replaced Christine Kintu Guwatudde.
Owere says as leaders of workers, they are going to take some actions to cripple Bitature and bring him to his knees. He says at their disposal is a range of options including (but not limited to) industrial action to make their voices heard. But the willingness by Bigirimana to let go, coupled with readiness by the Kaberenge-led NSSF board to nominate someone else, will most likely put the whole thing to rest once and for all. (For comments, call, text or whatsapp us on 0703164755 or email us at mulengera2040@gmail.com).
