----- Original Message ----- 
From: gook makanga 
To: [log in to unmask] 
Sent: Friday, November 14, 2003 12:18 AM
Subject: Re: ugnet_: Govt paid all Tri-Star bills






If this is not looting and terrorism worse than Kony then i don't know what terrorism is!







Gook 

"You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom."- Malcom X 




----Original Message Follows---- 
From: Omar Kezimbira 
Reply-To: [log in to unmask] 
To: [log in to unmask] 
Subject: ugnet_: Govt paid all Tri-Star bills 
Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 13:10:17 -0800 (PST) 

Govt paid all Tri-Star bills 
By Patrick Onyango 
Nov 14, 2003 - Monitor 


PARLIAMENT - The owners of Apparels Tri-Star did not spend a coin on starting their textiles firm, Parliament heard yesterday. 

Mr Velupillai Kananathan, the Tri-Star managing director, shocked MPs when he revealed that government put up $5.8 million (more than Shs 10 billion) to start the firm. 

The owners of the private company invested $800,000 (Shs 1.6 billion) in "technical expertise". 

"We didn't bring in any cash at all," Kananathan told MPs on the Finance committee chaired by Mr Bright Rwamirama. 
Mr Kananathan gestures while appearing before Parliament yesterday, accompanied by a Tri-Star official who could ! not readily be identified (Photo by John Nsimbe). 
It is now clear that government guaranteed loans worth more than Shs 10 billion to Tri-Star from Uganda Development Bank and Stanbic Bank Limited. 


This was on top of the Shs 5.8 billion that government made available in cash and subsidies to the firm to export textiles to the United States under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, Agoa. 

The businessman told MPs that the guarantee from government was more than that laid down in the memorandum of understanding. 

He said government was supposed to guarantee loans to the firm up to $3.5 million (Shs 7 billion). 

He said he had no idea why government had backed bigger loans. "Government facilitated us to get the money but I don't know how they did it," he said, "ask the government." 

A bottomless pit? 

Lawmakers also heard yesterday that the firm has had trouble meeting its loan obligations - which would leave government to ! bear the costs of the venture, were it to fail. 

MPs asked the businessman how soon he would start repaying the loan. 
Next year, he said. 

"We are very comfortable we are going to pay this loan," he said. However, committee member Abdu Katuntu pulled out documents from the banks, which showed that the firm was behind on its debt obligations. 

Kananathan looked left and right toward his team of four lawyers from Kibeedi & Co. Advocates and Rwaganika & Co. Advocates. 

While they had come to his rescue earlier, taking on some of his questions, Rwamirama reminded the businessman that he is the boss of the company and should therefore answer the questions. 

Kananathan then admitted that the company is currently not making any money but would be able to repay the loan next year. 

But Katuntu was not finished. 

He fished out another letter written by Kananathan to the Uganda Development Bank, asking to reschedule payment of the debt. 

"We are not making any money," the businessman sa! id, dejectedly, "we will be able to pay our loan next year." 

Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu said government should forget about the money it gave as surety for the firm's loans. 

"This is a bottomless pit that the government is going to sink in more money and it's going to lose," Kamuntu said. 

The meeting ended prematurely because the businessman did not have most of the documents that the MPs demanded, and was put off to next Thursday. 



© 2003 The Monitor Publications 



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