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Onegi-Obel wants Govt to take over Tristar
By Irene Nabusoba and Mary Karugaba
THE Government was advised last year to acquire a stake in Apparels Tristar to save it from collapsing.
Senior presidential advisor on AGOA Jeff Onegi-Obel told a parliamentary committee yesterday that he advised President Yoweri Museveni to nominate a Government representative to the Tristar board.
Onegi-Obel told the finance, planning and economic development committee that Museveni subsequently sent a directive to the Ministry of Finance on May 15, 2003.
Onegi-Obel said the advisory was based on fear that the factory could collapse.
He said the President has since issued a directive to convert enterprises with big loans from Government like Tristar into public equities to save them from going into liquidation.
“A debt can be turned into equity and that is what we are recommending. This is the least cost measure we can think of,” Onegi-Obel said.
He described the factory ma
nagement as ‘very incompetent and inexperienced in garment production’.
He said the managing director of the Bugolobi-based garment factory, Vellupillai Kananathan, is incompetent and has no experience in garment production.
“The gentleman you are referring to (Kananathan) is incompetent. I am saying that on record publicly. It is true that even the 56 experts from Sri-Lanka have no qualifications whatsoever. But that is the model from Sri-Lanka. They were picked from the poorest of the poor households and have even never gone to school,” Onegi-Obel said.
He said the finance ministry was yet to nominate a representative to the board.
His remarks, however, triggered a hot debate that dragged the committee chaired by Major Bright Rwamirama into a four-hour debate, with Onegi-Obel frequently asking for protection from angry MPs.
James Mwandha (PWD) asked him to resign when he contradicted himself by saying he was one of those people who b
elieve that government should not risk taking a stake in enterprises with such structural ties.
Fred Omach Jocham (Jonam), Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu (Shema South) and James Kakoza (Kabula) put him to task to explain why government decided to invest $6m in a company with no board representation.
They also queried why government decided to deal with a foreign company when it seemed cheaper and less risky with local textile companies.
Onegi-Obel was accompanied by the special presidential assistant on AGOA and trade, Susan Muhwezi.
Published on: Wednesday, 28th January, 2004 |
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