KAMPALA – President Yoweri Museveni has sacked Geraldine Ssali as the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Cooperatives (MTIC) amid a corruption scandal surrounding the war loss compensation process for cooperatives.
Ssali’s sacking comes after a parliamentary committee investigation uncovered numerous irregularities in the war loss compensation process, including lack of clear guidelines for verifying war loss claims, payments made without verification, inflated claims, and duplication of payments.
She has been replaced by Alex Kakooza, who was previously the Permanent Secretary in the Education Ministry until July 2021 and later served as Principal Private Secretary to the Vice-President in the President’s office.
Kakooza’s appointment was announced in an internal memo, and he was introduced to the Ministry’s staff on July 26, 2024.
Ssali’s sacking and replacement are seen as a move to address the corruption and mismanagement in the war loss compensation process and to bring transparency and accountability to the Ministry.
The parliamentary committee’s report had recommended that Ssali be held accountable for the irregularities in the war loss compensation process, and her sacking is seen as a step towards implementing the committee’s recommendations.
