The interdicted Mulago National Referral Hospital Executive director, Dr Baterana Byarugaba has snubbed Parliamentary summons to answer audit queries.
Dr Byarugaba was on Wednesday supposed to appear before the Public Accounts Committee (Central) chaired by Busiro East County MP Medard Sseggona. He was supposed to appear along with Dr Rosemary Byanyima, the Acting Mulago ED to answer to audit queries for FY 2020/2021.
During the sitting, whereas Byanyima was in attendance, Byarugaba was nowhere to be seen, leaving the Committee stranded. Efforts to reach him on his renowned phones were futile. Sseggona could only reach Byarugaba on phone through Tororo Woman MP Sarah Opendi, the former state minister for Health. Opendi was able to reach Byarugaba on phone who later talked to Sseggona. Byarugaba told Sseggona that he is not aware of the summons and that he is in Rukungiri.
Last month, Byanyima who appeared before the same committee expressed inability to respond to the queries raised in the Auditor General's report, prompting the Committee to summon Dr Byarugaba who was the ED then. Byarugaba was interdicted early last month on allegations of fraud and misappropriation of funds totaling to Shs28.8 billion for the past four financial years.
During the phone conversation, Sseggona summoned the embattled former Mulago boss to his office tomorrow at midday for a meeting with a few MPs and Mulago officials.
“When we last met on 16th March 2022, we asked Dr Byanyima to get in touch with Dr Byarugaba to prepare written responses and subsequently appear before the committee. We gave them one month and there was no response. I followed up by way of telephone discussion with the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health who interdicted him and we agreed that he [Dr. Byarugaba] would be allowed access to his office together with his team for purposes of preparing responses to AG queries,” Sseggona said.
He said that several efforts from the committee to have Byarugaba attend the meeting have proved fruitless as the committee races against time to have the Auditor General’s report considered on the floor of Parliament with appropriate actions.
“I have talked to Dr Byarugaba on phone and he says he is in Rukungiri and has not received any invite. I have sought to initiate another administrative effort to have them prepare responses by giving him another opportunity to come to office tomorrow where we shall meet him with a few other people to chat a way forward,” Sseggona told the committee.
He urged Dr. Byanyima who was in attendance to allow Byarugaba access his office to facilitate this process. “I now direct you [Dr Byanyima] that Dr Byarugaba and his team be given access to the office for purposes of preparing responses because it is time bound and constitutional….If you don’t allow him access to the office then you will prepare the responses,” he ruled.
In response, Dr. Byanyima told the committee that she has written to Byarugaba asking him to appear before the committee with no response from the latter. She committed willingness to support the process.
“As head of the institution, I tried the means I could to communicate to Dr Byarugaba and at least I have evidence from WhatsApp that he received the picture of the letter. In my letter, I stated clearly that as an institution, we are willing to give him the necessary support which means that we are ready to give him access [to office] to prepare the report,” Dr Byanyima said.
