The Chairman and Chief Executive of Libyan African Investment Portfolio (LAP) said LAP GreenN, a Dubai-based subsidiary of LAP, received $208 million from LAP between November 2011 and August 2014.
In a statement, Mohsen Derrega said LAP managed to trace $118m out of the $208 m paid to Uganda Telecom UTL, South Sudan GEMTEL, and the Ivory Coast and Sierra Leon Telecom companies, but it is not clear how the rest of the fund was used as the audit firm of LAP was declined access to trace the fund on the pretext of the current political division.
“The total funding provided to LAP GreenN by LAP and LIA (Libyan Investment Authority) is US$1.45 b, of which over US$500 m were soft loans, with the exception of the US$208m above, all between 2007 and 2011. Additionally, LAP GreenN has over US$150m of debt funded by third parties." He said.
Recently, there were attempts by the Ugandan government to nationalize Uganda Telecom UTL over unpaid debts.
In June, the Libyan Ambassador to Uganda Fauzi Bu Katif said the General Manager of LAP GreenN Wafiq Al-Shater declined to respond to his requests to come to Uganda and put an end to the problems of UTL and save Libyans’ money.
Derrega further explained that he had made several attempts to rescue LAP GreenN when he was a chairman for LIA after the 2011 revolution, but the intransigence of LAP's management then was a major obstacle.
He also played down recent reports which indicated that UTL has been given a cash injection of $56m to sort out its problems by the Libyan Post Telecommunications and Information Technology Company of Tobruk government.
“It seems to me the current story about LAP GreenN being rescued by LPTIC is just to cover the fact that the promises made to Uganda to provide US$56m of funding to Uganda's UTL during Foreign Minister Daery's visit to Uganda could not be fulfilled. Uganda has been in touch with us but we are unable to continue to fund a poorly managed LAP GreenN.” Derrega noted.
Libya's state-owned LAP GreenN owns 69% of UTL, Uganda’s national fixed line, mobile and Internet provider, with the Government of Uganda holding the remaining 31% of shares.