The State Minister for Planning at the Ministry of Finance David Bahati has assured Parliament that no money will be lost while retrieving the Shs2 billion which was sent by mistake to Ugandan Embassy in China.
On the 28th of February 2020, the Ministry of Finance transferred $600,000 (Shs2.2 billion) to the Uganda Mission in Beijing as part of the relief money for Ugandan students stranded in Wuhan, China, the coronavirus epicenter.
However, through the office of the treasury, it was discovered that the money which was sent was more than what the Parliament had proposed to send to students.
According to Bahati, the mistake could have come from the two proposals that came from different arms of government.
“The original request was for $600,000 but Cabinet approved only $61,000, however originally the Ministry of Education had requested $600,000. Madam Speaker we are doing whatever it takes to retrieve this money without losing any penny,” he said.
Bahati’s promise follows a letter from the Secretary to the Treasury, Keith Muhakanizi where he ordered the Embassy to transfer USD 538,200 (approx. Shs2 billion) back to the Contingency Fund with immediate effect.
In his March 10 letter to the Ugandan Embassy in China, Muhakaniza directed them to send back the money to the account name: Contingency Fund, Account number: 003300138000005, Bank: Bank of Uganda.
According to the government, Uganda has about 105 students in Wuhan city Universities. 65 are known government-sponsored students while 40 are on private sponsorship.
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