In Summary
According to the judgement, government was ordered to pay the complainants more than Shs10.3 billion as total terminal benefits for the non-unionised former employees of CMB in accordance with the verification report of the Auditor General of November 2009
Former employees of the defunct Coffee Marketing Board (CMB) may not see their terminal benefits worth more than Shs29 billion soon after a new case has been filed challenging the award.
The benefits resulted from a consent judgement signed between the Attorney General and former workers through their lawyers.
According to the judgement, government was ordered to pay the complainants more than Shs10.3 billion as total terminal benefits for the non-unionised former employees of CMB in accordance with the verification report of the Auditor General of November 2009.
Court also ordered that each of the complainants shall be paid Shs10 million as general damages and interest be paid at court rate.
The complainants are some of the former employees of CMB who were retrenched between 1992 and 1998 after the parastatal was privatised.
But the official receiver of CMB petitioned court for orders to set aside the directive to pay the said money alleging that he was never a party to the suit and the proceedings.
In the case against the former CMB former workers and the Attorney General, the liquidator of Coffee Marketing Board alleges that it was committed to pay colossal sums of money without being accorded an opportunity to defend the claim.
“The Attorney General together with the respondents (Ex-CMB workers and AG) recorded a consent in the suit, indicating the applicant as a party thereto where (i) the applicant was not a party to the suit, (ii) No summons to file a defence was ever served on the applicant, (iii) No instructions had been issued by the applicant to have the said consent recorded on its behalf,” reads the complaint.
In October last year, the secretary to the Treasury, Mr Keith Muhakanizi, said the claims for terminal benefits are illegal and irregular arguing that court had earlier issued an order prohibiting its implementation.
“Verification of this claim by the Auditor General was highly irregular and appears to be the trigger of most of these challenges. The verification was deemed irregular,” wrote Mr Muhakanizi, adding that the AG was not requested by the Ministry of Finance or the official receiver to carry out the purported verification.
background
On January 11, High Court Judge Stephen Musota issued compelling orders against the government to pay Shs29.1 billion to 1,568 people in fulfillment of a consent judgement between the complainants and the Attorney General in July last year. However, a sworn statement by Mr Bemanya Twebaze alleges that the AG was not counsel for the liquidator; “As I never instructed him to conduct the suit on behalf of the applicant or to agree to the terms of the consent on the applicant’s behalf.”
ekasozi@ug.nationmedia.com
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