The Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) has asked the Ministry of Finance and other government agencies to halt a proposed US$14 million (about Shs52 billion) payment to Odrek Rwabwogo, Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Exports and Industrial Development (PACEID).
Kasambya County MP David Kabanda, who also serves as Executive Secretary to PLU Chairman Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, delivered the position following Gen. Kainerugaba's recent statement that PACEID is operating without a legal mandate.
Kabanda said the PLU is not questioning the President's constitutional authority to create or restructure government bodies, but wants to ensure all public institutions operate within established legal and administrative frameworks.
Addressing a press conference at the PLU National Chairman's office in Nakasero, Kabanda said that while President Yoweri Museveni has the power to establish, abolish or merge government departments, any such entity must have a proper legal structure defining its staffing, funding, governance and reporting mechanisms.
He said the concern is that PACEID receives public money without a defined accounting officer, recruitment procedure or financial accountability pathway.
"The country needs to know who appointed him as the chairman of PACEID," Kabanda said, noting that Rwabwogo's appointment as Senior Presidential Adviser on Special Duties does not automatically create an independent government agency with authority to recruit staff or manage public funds outside regular government channels.
He compared PACEID to other presidential initiatives, such as the Anti-Corruption Unit, which operate through defined government procedures for recruitment and accountability. He also questioned PACEID's role in appointing trade envoys, noting that Uganda already has a Ministry of Foreign Affairs and diplomatic missions responsible for external relations.
Kabanda said the immediate trigger is the reported US$14 million payment, which he linked to a transaction involving the supply of helicopters and other materials to the South Sudanese government. He questioned why Uganda's Treasury would be responsible if the supplies were made to South Sudan.
He added that the transaction involves Tomosi Farm Company Limited, a Ugandan company associated with Rwabwogo whose registered activities relate to milk production.
"If you supplied the government of South Sudan and you are not in the original agreement, why don't you go to South Sudan and ask them to pay you?" he asked.
Kabanda said information available to PLU indicates the Ministry of Finance is processing the payment and urged the ministry to halt it until the legal and contractual basis is clarified.
He also raised questions about Rwabwogo's involvement in various sectors, including coffee, milk and media, alongside his role as a presidential adviser, arguing that such multiple interests should be subject to transparency and ethical scrutiny.
The PLU said its intervention is not personal but rooted in a commitment to lawful governance and responsible use of public resources.
