The Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) has raised concerns about the legality of transactions involving five companies with outstanding registration fees totalling Shs8.018 billion, warning that failure to comply with statutory requirements could put government investments at risk.
The committee, chaired by Kyadondo East MP Muwada Nkunyingi, raised the concerns during a follow-up meeting with the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) on Thursday, October 29, 2026.
The inquiry is examining how URSB processed transactions involving Roko Construction, Tropical Bank, Speke Resort Convention Centre, Oil Palm Buvuma and Horyal Investments Holding Company Limited despite outstanding registration fees.
URSB reported that the five companies owed a combined Shs8.018 billion in unpaid fees. However, only Roko Construction and Tropical Bank attended the committee meeting after being invited to appear.
COSASE subsequently issued summons to Speke Resort Convention Centre and Oil Palm Buvuma, while Horyal Investments was scheduled to appear before the committee on November 11.
The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, who was expected to attend Thursday’s meeting to clarify concerns surrounding interdictions and administrative decisions at URSB, requested to appear on a later date.
The committee is investigating whether URSB lawfully processed the transactions without collecting the required fees and whether an undertaking by the Ministry of Finance to settle the outstanding amounts could justify bypassing statutory procedures.
The amounts discussed included approximately Shs3 billion owed by Horyal Investments, Shs2.071 billion by Roko Construction, Shs2 billion by Speke Resort Convention Centre, Shs599 million by Oil Palm Buvuma and Shs347.035 million by Tropical Bank.
Lugazi Municipality MP Richard Ssalongo Senteza questioned whether the law was being applied equally, arguing that large companies should not receive preferential treatment because of their connections to government.
Senteza challenged URSB to explain why smaller businesses faced account freezes for failing to meet annual filing requirements while companies with substantial investments and unpaid registration fees continued operating.
He also questioned whether the bureau had taken adequate steps to recover the outstanding money before Parliament intervened.
Moroto District Woman MP Stella Atyang similarly questioned what she described as disparities in the enforcement of registration requirements against small businesses and large companies.
She asked URSB to provide documentation showing the measures taken to recover the outstanding fees, saying the bureau needed to demonstrate whether it had fulfilled its mandate or failed to protect government revenue.
Bamunanika County MP Robert Ssekitoleko questioned whether URSB had included the affected companies among businesses previously identified for non-compliance with registration requirements.
He also raised concerns about the repeated involvement of Ministry of Finance Commissioner Moses Kagwa in transactions involving the companies, asking why the same official appeared to represent government interests across multiple investments.
Nkunyingi said the inquiry was focusing on three main issues: the failure to pay registration fees, the processing of potentially incomplete applications and the legal implications of registering transactions without fulfilling the applicable requirements.
He said the concerns went beyond unpaid fees to the protection of government shareholding in the affected companies.
The committee chair warned that government could face difficulties enforcing its ownership rights or recovering investments if shareholding arrangements were not properly documented through legally compliant registration processes.
He said the risks could become more pronounced if any of the companies encountered financial difficulties.
The committee also questioned the Ministry of Finance’s role in directing the transactions and whether the necessary approvals and statutory requirements had been fulfilled.
Buzaaya County MP Martin Muzaale questioned the capacity of government officials tasked with representing the state in numerous companies, citing reports that Kagwa was involved in more than 20 companies.
Muzaale warned that government could lose substantial investments if its representatives failed to monitor shareholding arrangements, dividends and company performance.
He cited Roko Construction, where he said government held a 91 per cent stake, as an example of the need to establish whether public investments were generating returns.
He also questioned the status of government funding for other companies and called for closer scrutiny of how exemptions and investment decisions were approved.
Nkunyingi said the committee would continue examining the transactions and the respective roles of URSB and the Ministry of Finance before determining the appropriate corrective action.
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