Prime
IGG wants Parliament staff sacked over graft
Action. Inspector General of Government (IGG), Ms Irene Mulyagonja. File photo
What you need to know:
- The IGG said the seminar took place in February 2015 not in June 2015 as indicated by the officials. She also said Wilton Park denied issuing invitation letters, invoices and receipts that were submitted by the Parliament officials as part of their accountability documents.
- Ms Mulyagonja, however, said Mr Obore was not party to the procurement of the professional heavy duty camera and a camera stand since he joined Parliamentary Service after the equipment had been procured.
The Inspector General of Government (IGG), Ms Irene Mulyagonja, has recommended that a number of parliamentary staff be relieved of their duties, others reprimanded and the rest warned for engaging in corruption.
In an August 8 letter addressed to the Clerk to Parliament, Ms Mulyagonja indicated that the officials, including Mr Paul Wabwire, the Deputy Clerk for Parliamentary Affairs, embezzled money meant for a training, which they did not attend. She ordered that they refund the money within three months.
“Given the findings, the Clerk to Parliament should ensure that Mr Wabwire refunds Shs51,095,600 within a period of three months. The money should be refunded on the Inspectorate of Government Asset Recovery Account number 003030088000007 in Bank of Uganda; failure of which, the duo shall be prosecuted,” she wrote.
She also tasked the Clerk to Parliament to within two months present the officials to the Parliamentary Commission for disciplinary action.
The IGG also ordered that Mr Abdul Kasule Kajimu, the public affairs officer in the Parliamentary Commission, be reprimanded for neglect of duty and breach of procedures during the procurement of the heavy duty camera for Parliament.
Mr Kajimu, as the contract manager, is faulted for failing to ensure that appropriate authority was sought in adjusting the specifications to substitute the camera stand with the lens.
Termination of employment
The IGG faulted Ms Julian Kaganzi, the chief procurement officer, and Mr Lassu Patrick, the senior procurement officer to the Parliamentary Commission, for neglect of duty when they failed to task the user department to develop elaborate specifications for the heavy duty camera, and asked the Parliamentary Commission to warn them.
Ms Mulyagonja ordered that two other staff, Mr Sam Bosio, and Ms Nabitaka Barbra, be sacked.
“Submit Mr Sam Bosio Sam, the assistant inventory management officer, and Ms Barbra Nabitaka, the public affairs officer, to the Parliamentary Commission, to consider relieving them of their duties for misleading the accounts unit to pay for the camera stand before it was delivered,” she ordered.
The problem
A whistleblower in 2017 petitioned the IGG to investigate the Parliament staff, among them Mr Chris Obore, the Director of Information and Communication, on allegations of corruption.
The whistleblower alleged that the officials received Shs100 million as facilitation for training in Kigali and UK between December 2015 and June 2016 but did not attend the trainings. The whistleblower also alleged that Mr Obore irregularly procured a camera at Shs148m and a camera stand at Shs3.4m in June 2015.
According to the IGG findings, the officials were advanced Shs99.2m to attend a seminar, at Wilton Park in June 2016. However, they failed to produce evidence of attending the said seminar.
The IGG said the seminar took place in February 2015 not in June 2015 as indicated by the officials. She also said Wilton Park denied issuing invitation letters, invoices and receipts that were submitted by the Parliament officials as part of their accountability documents.
Ms Mulyagonja, however, said Mr Obore was not party to the procurement of the professional heavy duty camera and a camera stand since he joined Parliamentary Service after the equipment had been procured.
