Why Did Deputy DG Paul Kyalimpa Resign from UIA?

Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) Deputy Director General, Paul Kyalimpa, resigned in mid-May 2024, according to a letter addressed to the board chair, Mr Morrison Rwakakamba as seen by the Prism editorial. In his resignation letter dated May 16, 2024, Kyalimpa wrote, “Please accept this letter as a formal notice of my resignation from the post of Deputy Director General as per UIA Human Resource Manual 2021.” The letter was received by UIA’s board chairman, Morrison Rwakakamba, on May 20, 2024.

Kyalimpa stated in his letter that he decided to undertake professional training for more than a year, which requires intense concentration and dedication. He added that he intended to take his remaining annual leave for the Financial Year 2023/24 starting May 27, 2024, and would return to finalize the handover process.

The resignation comes amid pressure from State Minister of Finance in charge of Privatization, Evelyne Anite, on UIA’s top management to return UGX 545 million received as ‘honoraria’ from funds earmarked for construction of transport infrastructure in Namanve Industrial Park. Kyalimpa had recently threatened to sue Minister Anite for defamation after she implicated him in the saga, accusing her of knowingly publishing false statements for political gain.

In response, Anite asserted her commitment to fighting corruption and misuse of public funds, even if it meant taking the matter to court. However, Kyalimpa later retracted his threats in a communication to Anite, expressing his gratitude for the opportunity to serve the nation through the UIA.

Kyalimpa joined UIA in 2020 after withdrawing from the MP race for Buyanja County in Kibale district, where he was contesting against Finance Minister Matia Kasaija.

Anite recently criticized a UGX 545 million honorarium paid to Mukiza and other UIA staff from the UGX 871 billion loan for the Kampala Industrial and Business Park (KIBP) infrastructure development project. The honorarium allocations included UGX 82 million for Mukiza and UGX 58 million for Dr. Paul Kyalimpa, among others. This pressure for someone with political ambitions could be dangerous not only infront of policy makers and executive of this country but also before the electorate. A section think Kyalimpa wouldnt trade his political ambition for UGX. 58M.

Mukiza although later explained in a statement to UIA’s board chairman, Morrison Rwakakamba, dated June 14, 2024, that the honoraria were approved by the UIA board to compensate staff for additional responsibilities following the termination of the owner’s engineer (OE) on August 29, 2022. The project manager and Mukiza proposed to remunerate the staff for their extraordinary duties in supervising the KIBP infrastructure development.

The board approved the proposal, ensuring that the honoraria were within legal bounds and aligned with Section 3.28 of the UIA Human Resource Manual, which allows for honoraria for exceptionally important work outside the normal scope of duties. Mukiza emphasized that all payments were subject to statutory deductions and that the arrangement saved the government significant funds compared to what would have been paid to the OE.

Mukiza also highlighted that the decision to allocate honoraria saved the government UGX 5.9 billion over the period while the procurement process for a new OE continued.

In response to Anite’s directives to refund the UGX 545 million, Mukiza reiterated that the payments were legal and justified, and the board’s decision ultimately resulted in substantial savings for the government.