National Unity Platform leaning MP Medard Segona wants the position screapped off.
The development came to light following the Deuy Governor BOU Michael Atingi-Ego assurance that Bank of Uganda is operating well without a Governor, Hon Medard Segona has proposed to have the position of Governor Central Bank of Uganda scrapped off in order to save taxpayers money that goes into the payment of wages and emoluments to the officer holder.
“You can’t run an institution that doesn’t have the head, but the shoulder. You don’t have a Board, because we haven’t amended the law to remove the Governor as Chairperson of the Board. You can’t be a Deputy Governor when you aren’t deputizing anyone. Have you read the case of Sam Kutesa and Others against the Attorney General on the question of constitution of IGG? Go and refresh it and come back. Once one person isn’t there, you don’t have a body. Of course I am not saying this to blame you because you aren’t the appointing Authority, but in your advisory capacity,” noted Segona.
However, the Deuy Governor Bank of Uganda Michael Atingi-Ego has asked Ugandans not to worry about the absence of a substantive Governor at the Central Bank close to three years, saying the Bank hasn’t failed at delivering its mandate because there are strong governance structures to guide the team in place.
His remarks were in response to questions posed by Allan Mayanja(Nakaseke Central) and Medard Segona who asked how the absence of a Governor have affected the operations of the central Bank to which MP Mayanja asked, “We are coming to three years without substantive Governor, we would like to know how this has affected you and the experience you are passing through.”
Hon Segona has suggested that since the absence of the Govenor of the Central Bank has not affected the performance there is no need to waste taxpayers money.
“I think the Bank has been delivering, is there anything to suggest that in the absence of the Governor, the Bank hasn’t been performing? I think what is happening is that we have a Board, we have senior management and we have very capable staffs. We have policies and guidelines to run the Bank, the governance structures in the Bank are performing and that is why we are able to deliver. Notwithstanding the absence of the Governor, the governance structures in the Bank are functional, we have the Board to give us oversight and an excellent and hardworking team of staff,” said Atingi-Ego.
On the otherhand, Sseggona asked the central Bank team to explain under what law digital loan platforms are operating and how far Government has gone in regulating crypto currency. “I have heard this thing of digital money lending, someone lends you money, and when you fail to pay, they call all your contacts, is that business regulated? If it is regulated, what is the interest rate for those ones? Are we also receiving taxes from those money lenders? Just yesterday, I was on radio and one of the platforms was even advertising on radio, how are you regulating that? How far are we with regulating digital currency because those are some of the challenges with the digital era?” asked Sseggona.