The Committee on Trade, Tourism, and Industry in Parliament has requested Munyonyo Commonwealth Resort Limited to provide audited financial statements. This request comes after it was revealed that the facility has not undergone an official audit for the past four years, reportedly due to the delayed appointment of government representatives to the Board.
Munyonyo is a partially government-owned five-star hotel resort, situated on 90 acres of land beside Victoria Lake in Kampala. Through the Uganda Development Corporation (UDC), the government holds a 25 percent stake, which amounts to 15,061,309,120 shares out of the 60,244,836,480 paid-up shares in Munyonyo.
During a session with the probe Committee, Dr. Patrick Birungi, the Executive Director of UDC, explained that Munyonyo Resort lacks audited financial statements for the Financial Years 2019 and 2022 due to the delayed appointment of government representatives to the Board.
The Committee, chaired by Charles Okello, Member of Parliament for Nwoya East County, is investigating the state of government investment in this luxury resort and conference facility.
Dr. Birungi informed the Committee that audited financial statements for the mentioned years were unavailable due to the disruptions caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic. He further elaborated that a government representative was needed for the quorum at both the Board and Annual General Meeting, but during that period, many government officials were not in positions to facilitate the audit processes due to the pandemic’s challenges.
Upon Birungi’s request for additional time to allow external auditors, UHY Thakkar & Associates, appointed on July 19, 2023, to complete ongoing financial audits, the Chairperson adjourned the probe.
Godfrey Odero, the legislator for Samia Bugwe County South, insisted that UDC submits all audited financial statements dating back to 2007 when the government began investing in Munyonyo. This investment was initiated when Uganda hosted the 20th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) at Munyonyo Commonwealth Resort.
According to Dr. Birungi, UDC has nominated Betty Katsimbazi and Stephen Mwanje as new Directors of Munyonyo Commonwealth Resort, with Andrew Rugasira and Basil Ajer as alternate directors.
Munyonyo Resort is also owned by Sudhir Ruperalia, the Director of Meera Investments Limited. Sudhir and his co-director, Jyotsna Ruperalia, possess 30,724,866,605 ordinary shares, while his company holds 8,434,277,107 shares, and Jyotsna owns 6,024,483,648 shares, respectively.
The government contributed 15 billion Shillings towards the 2007 CHOGM meeting held at Munyonyo Commonwealth Resort as part of a joint venture. An additional 13 billion Shillings were spent on the construction of a marina and pathways.
The Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development was the shareholder of government shares in Munyonyo Resort until 2022 when ownership was transferred to UDC in accordance with the UDC Act of 2016.
