{"id":7953,"date":"2023-01-09T17:31:33","date_gmt":"2023-01-09T17:31:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ugandaupdatenews.com\/?p=7953"},"modified":"2023-01-10T08:41:40","modified_gmt":"2023-01-10T08:41:40","slug":"amongi-vs-byarugaba-nssf-saga-deepens-as-igg-takes-over-investigations-following-president-museveni-directive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/amongi-vs-byarugaba-nssf-saga-deepens-as-igg-takes-over-investigations-following-president-museveni-directive\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00a0AMONGI VS. BYARUGABA: NSSF SAGA DEEPENS AS IGG TAKES OVER INVESTIGATIONS FOLLOWING PRESIDENT MUSEVENI DIRECTIVE"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>IGG&nbsp; Betty Kamya freezes spending at NSSF<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Only wage bill and statutory expenditure is allowed<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>NSSF revised budget for financial year 2023-2024 suspended till investigations are\u00a0 completed<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The NSSF saga&nbsp; about the reappointment of Richard Byarugaba&nbsp; has taken a new twist &nbsp;with the Inspector General of Government (IGG) taking over the investigations as per President Yoweri Museveni\u2019s directives that both Gender Minister Betty Amongi and long serving Managing Director Richard Byarugaba be investigated about the management of the fund .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Earlier the President had agreed with the NSSF Board of Directors recommendation that Byarugaba just like his Deputy Mr, Patrick Ayota be reappointed in their positions to serve for another five year term as provided for in sections 39 and 40 of the amended NSSF Act .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ayota was indeed reappointed but Byarugaba was not appointed for unclear reasons \u2013 leading to  protracted exchanges that have drawn in powerful and influential groups .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This prompted the Prime Minister Hon. Robinnah Nabbanja to write to Gender Minister Amongi to reappoint Byarugaba following several meetings with concerned stakeholders . However, Amongi defied the Prime Minister\u2019s directive when President Museveni was away attending the USA-Africa summit in Washington DC .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It has since been alleged that Amongi refused to reappoint&nbsp; Byarugaba after he refused to bow to her demands to release Ug.Shs.6bn NSSF workers hard earned money to her Gender Ministry for \u201cmobilization\u201d of voluntary savings among other activities .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;As the disagreement between Byarugaba and Amongi deepened drawing in many interested groups-some very influential, on his return from USA \u2013HE President Museveni called for another meeting were accusations and counter accusations were leveled between the two protagonists -Minister Amongi and Byarugaba prompting the President to direct for a full investigation before he takes a final decision on the matter .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, the NSSF board chairperson, Dr Peter Kimbowa, confirmed that they have already recommended to the government\u2019s relevant investigative bodies including &nbsp;the IGG\u2019s office to carry out investigations as per the Presidential Directives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The IGG &nbsp;Beti Kamya has already swung in action freezing all NSSF expenditures including the Ug.Shs. 6bn which had been quietly included in a revised budget for NSSF for the financial year 2023-2024. In a letter to NSSF Board and Management Kamya directed that no funds apart from the wage bill and statutory obligations should be spent until the investigations have been completed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Where it all started<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At first Minister Amongi had declined to renew Byarugaba\u2019s contract on the premise that he and his Deputy had locked the retirement age of&nbsp; 60 years. However, according to the amended NSSF Act no age limit is imposed but provides that the Minister can appoint the MD and his Deputy for a term of five years which can be renewed only once . This means that since the new amended law cant operate retrospectively , &nbsp;&nbsp;Byarugaba could be legally repointed for another five year term renewable .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sections 39 and 40 of NSSF Act, Chapter 222, as amended, provides for the managing director and deputy managing director, respectively, to be appointed by the minister, in this case, Ms Amongi, on the recommendation of the board. The Board recommended and the Prime Minister wrote to Amongi to implement the Board recommendation and reappoint\u00a0 Byarugaba. The Board and many stakeholders were of the view that given the circumstances Byarugaba has done exceeding well \u2013turning around a fund that was collapsing following numerous financial scandals \u2013to the extent that the fund has been paying healthy- two digits -interest rate to its members for the first time since its establishment .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once Amongi realized that she could not win on the argument of age , she then relied on a 22-page petition signed by more than 100 workers to convince the President to direct for full investigation . The petition was supported by one of the workers MPs who are also divided over the matter .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Out Spoken workers MP Usher Wislon Owere has come out strongly to state that they will not allow Gender Minister Amongi&#8217;s political pressure on the NSSF Board and Management to release to her shs. 6bn of workers hard earned money illegally . Owere questioned why Minister Amongi doesn\u2019t submit her budgetary request to the ministry of Finance which is constitutionally mandated to fund ministries through the consolidated fund after appropriation by parliament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Legal experts speaker out<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Legal experts who have talked to this publication have indicated that legally Byarugaba can be reappointed under the new amended NSSF Act since age is not specifically provided for. They also argued that it is illegal and in fact unconstitutional for NSSF management to use workers savings to fund the Ministry of Gender activities . Several lawyers said they are ready to take up the matter and file a constitutional petition together with a civil suit challenge Amongi\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The NSSF saga&nbsp; about the reappointment of Richard Byarugaba&nbsp; has taken a new twist &nbsp;with the Inspector General of Government<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7954,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[259,153],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-accountability","category-investigation"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/home12pix.jpg","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7979,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/nssf-saga-gender-minister-amongi-defends-ug-shs-6b-she-directed-to-be-included-in-the-funds-budget\/","url_meta":{"origin":7953,"position":0},"title":"NSSF SAGA: GENDER MINISTER AMONGI DEFENDS UG.SHS.6B SHE DIRECTED TO BE INCLUDED IN THE FUND\u2019S BUDGET","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"January 11, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"By Our Reporters The Minster of Gender Labour and Social Development Betty Amongi Ongom has once again defended the Ug.shs. 6bn she directed the NSSF Management and Board to include in its 2023\/24 budget to mobilise more savings for the fund. While addressing journalists at the Media Center in Kampala\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;NSSF Savings&quot;","block_context":{"text":"NSSF Savings","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/nssf-savings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/amongi-1.jpeg","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8029,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/nssf-saga-gen-salim-saleh-writes-to-cartoonist-and-social-critic-spire-sentongo\/","url_meta":{"origin":7953,"position":1},"title":"NSSF SAGA : GEN SALIM SALEH WRITES TO CARTOONIST AND SOCIAL CRITIC SPIRE SENTONGO","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"January 17, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"By Our Senior Reporters NRA Veteran war hero ,Gen Salim Saleh has written to cartoonist and social critic Spire Sentongo after the latter drew a cartoon depicting the general to be involved in the running leadership battles at the NSSF . In a brief three sentence letter dated January 17\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;NSSF SAGA: Workers savings&quot;","block_context":{"text":"NSSF SAGA: Workers savings","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/nssf-saga-workers-savings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/IMG-20230117-WA0062.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/IMG-20230117-WA0062.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/IMG-20230117-WA0062.jpg 1.5x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/IMG-20230117-WA0062.jpg 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8032,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/nssf-saga-speaker-anita-among-to-name-five-man-select-committee-to-carry-out-investigations\/","url_meta":{"origin":7953,"position":2},"title":"NSSF SAGA : SPEAKER ANITA AMONG TO NAME FIVE MAN SELECT COMMITTEE TO CARRY OUT INVESTIGATIONS","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"January 19, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Speaker A. Among warns NSSf managers , politicians not to raid workers money By Our Parliament Reporter A select committee of\u00a0 five members will be set up on Monday to investigate the leadership mess at NSSF, Speaker Anita Among ruled\u00a0 as\u00a0 she vowed\u00a0 that workers money shall \u00a0be protected at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;NSSF SAGA: Workers savings&quot;","block_context":{"text":"NSSF SAGA: Workers savings","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/nssf-saga-workers-savings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/NSSF-among.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/NSSF-among.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/NSSF-among.jpg 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8104,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/nssf-saga-deputy-speaker-names-seven-member-committee-to-investigate-leadership-row-over-workers-savings\/","url_meta":{"origin":7953,"position":3},"title":"NSSF SAGA: DEPUTY SPEAKER NAMES SEVEN MEMBER COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE LEADERSHIP ROW OVER WORKERS SAVINGS","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"January 27, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"By Our Parliamentary Reporters Mbarara South Division Member of Parliament, Hon. Mwine Mpaka has been named Chairperson of the select committee to investigate operations and management of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF).\u00a0The other committee members include are Workers\u2019 Representative, Hon. Charles Bakkabulindi, Hon. Karim Masaba (Indep., Industrial Division Mbale\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;National News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"National News","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/national-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/WhatsApp-Image-2023-01-25-at-16.13.13.jpeg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/WhatsApp-Image-2023-01-25-at-16.13.13.jpeg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/WhatsApp-Image-2023-01-25-at-16.13.13.jpeg 1.5x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/WhatsApp-Image-2023-01-25-at-16.13.13.jpeg 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8173,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/nssf-saga-byarugaba-accuses-minister-amongi-of-interference-in-management-of-the-fund\/","url_meta":{"origin":7953,"position":4},"title":"NSSF\u00a0 SAGA: BYARUGABA ACCUSES MINISTER AMONGI OF INTERFERENCE IN MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"February 5, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"By Our Parliament Reporters Out going Managing Director \u00a0,Richard Byarugaba who is at the center of a leadership row at the - 18 Trillion National Social Security Fund (NSSF) has told the parliamentary select committee that \u00a0Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development, Betty Amongi \u00a0was overstepping her oversight mandate\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Workers savings&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Workers savings","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/workers-savings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8437,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/parliament-adopts-nssf-committee-report-calls-for-minister-amongi-resignation-for-soliciting-ug-shs-6bn-workers-money\/","url_meta":{"origin":7953,"position":5},"title":"Parliament adopts NSSF committee report calls for  Minister Amongi resignation for soliciting ug.shs.6bn workers money","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"March 11, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Members of Parliament chaired by Speaker Anita Among have adopted recommendations by the select committee that investigated mismanagement and corruption at the Ug.Shs.18 trillion NSSF and called for the resignation of Gender Minister Betty Amongi for abuse of office. The MPs voted to adopt the report after two days of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;NSSF SAGA: Workers savings&quot;","block_context":{"text":"NSSF SAGA: Workers savings","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/nssf-saga-workers-savings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/WhatsApp-Image-2023-03-09-at-15.50.55.jpeg","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0aOV-24h","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7953","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7953"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7953\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7958,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7953\/revisions\/7958"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}