Ayii Duang Ayii, former chairperson of the Business Community - Courtesy

Businessman and owner of South Supreme Airlines, Ayii Duang Ayii has defied a summons from the National Legislative Assembly concerning allegations related to leaked cheques totalling millions of dollars.

This was confirmed by Hon. Mayen Deng Alier, the Chairperson of the Standing Specialized Committee on Trade and Industry.

The committee summoned Mr. Ayii Duang on Tuesday, August 20, to clarify and disclose the name of the government institution that requested South Supreme Airlines to supply subsidized food commodities and fuel products, amounting to 193 million US dollars.

Hon. Mayen Deng revealed that leaked documents circulating online show an exchange of letters between South Supreme Airlines and the Ministry of Finance.

These documents included a sovereign guarantee and cheques valued at $20,064,950 and $193,248,955.90, respectively.

Hon. Mayen also stated that they are demanding detailed information on all contracts awarded to South Supreme Airlines by the government through the Ministry of Trade and Industry since 2013, including the total amounts involved.

He says the committee is seeking clarity on the airline’s relationship with a foreign company named Noble Enterprise Ltd, Kenya, which was mentioned in the summons.

Speaking to Eye Radio on Wednesday, Hon. Mayen stated that Ayii Duang refused to comply and to appear before the committee.

“He [Ayii] refused to come and was threatening, trying to undermine the powers of the committee and Parliament, claiming we don’t have the right to summon him,” Hon. Mayen said.

“We wrote to him, and he refused. We wrote again, and he refused once more. Now, it is up to the legal department, plus the committee, the assembly business committee, and the house to determine how we can compel Ayii to come and explain these issues,” he said.

“The country is in dire urgent economic need of money, and if we are dealing with 193 million dollars, it would be better spent on paying salaries so people can afford to buy goods in the market, rather than on things that may never even be seen in the market.”

In a press conference over the weekend, Ayii Duang confirmed that the leaked cheques were related to claims for air services provided to the government by South Supreme Airlines in 2013.

However, despite the two times summoned by the Committee Ayii Duang refused to comply undermining the power of the committee.

The Chair of the Committee Hon. Mayen says he is now seeking legal advice from the legal department and the National Legislative Assembly on the next steps.

“Now, the outcome will depend on the wisdom of the legal team; they will be the ones to guide us on the next steps. In most cases, if someone is summoned and refuses to appear, the matter is taken to the house,” said Hon. Mayen.

“It becomes subject to scrutiny by the 550 members, which will not be favourable for Ayii. We will scrutinize him thoroughly, examining every resource he has,” he said.

“If he is claiming several hundred million dollars from the government, we will scrutinize every dollar, one by one, until we account for the 700 million he is talking about.”

For his part, Businessman Ayii Duang stated that he was surprised to discover the summons letter to appear before the parliamentary committee was circulating on social media, specifically Facebook.

Duang questioned why the parliament intended to question him, pointing out that he was not a member of parliament.