By Mulengera Reporters
On Tuesday, COSASE Chairman Medard Segona convened a session and it was a full house with almost every eligible Committee member showing up for the hearing. They were here to have a resumption of the hearing session that had started last week.
The MPs are inquiring into fault lines and queries that were flagged in the Auditor General’s reports of the preceding accounting period. The MPs convened as early as 9am ready for business only for the Uganda Airlines entourage they were waiting for not to show up.
Besides calling on his fire-breathing members to calm down and allow the Airline bosses a second chance, Chairman Segona blamed CEO Jennifer Bamuturaki for treating the Committee with contempt. He said whereas it was acceptable for any accounting officer to fail to show up, it was disrespectful not to communicate.
He complained about all these MPs, who described as very important people, to be made to sit there waiting for witnesses for a full hour and in the end non shows up.
Understanding as always, Segona opted for de-escalation (as journalists tried to incite him into spitting fire) and instead opted to give Bamuturaki & her group another chance. He is expecting them tomorrow on Wednesday without fail, at 9am.
Segona has also invited the members of the taskforce which founded the Airline and did the pioneering work including the purchase of CRJ planes which Bamuturaki now says have been costly to the company because of high maintenance costs, amidst spare parts scarcities after the manufacturing company ownership changed hands.
Segona made it clear the CEO and her team must appear to give evidence to the Committee because the law requires them to. He said he was expecting them on Wednesday at exactly 9am without fail.
BAMUTURAKI TURNS UP:
But moments after Segona had adjourned the meeting and addressed reporters to register his displeasure, Bamuturaki turned up with her team. They were shocked to find the Committee adjourned as journalists bombarded them with questions.
They explained that they understood Segona’s communication as of last week, when they last appeared, to be that he was expecting them on Tuesday at mid-day and not at 9am.
The Airlines’ Communications Manager Shakirah R explained to journalists (as Bamuturaki chatted with a few MPs present) that they didn’t intend to undermine nor disrespect the Committee. She regretted the misunderstanding that arose from divergencies in communication regarding the starting time for the Committee.
Shakira explained that their day began with a meeting of top Airline company executives after which they proceeded coming to Parliament under the impression that the COSASE session was commencing at 12pm as opposed to 9am.
She made it clear they were apologetic to have inadvertently created so much inconvenience for Medard Segona and other COSASE members who had to wait for them for a full hour.
“We sincerely regret this and implore Hon Medard Segona to bear with us because we understood our appearance to be scheduled at 12pm and that is why we were here on time but unfortunately found the Committee already adjourned under the impression that we weren’t going to come,” Shakirah said.
She made it clear that they are more than prepared to appear on Wednesday at 9am and fully collaborate with the Committee in order to save Parliament’s time so that COSASE MPs are able to complete their work and attend to other equally important business. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
