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UNFPA asks Abim to account for Shs36m
Services. A health worker administers an oral Polio vaccine to a child during a mass immunisation outreach in Masaka District in October last year. Abim District officials have been accused of misusing health services funds. MONITOR PHOTO
What you need to know:
Programmes. The misused funds were meant for healthcare services and programmes.
ABIM. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has issued a two-week ultimatum to Abim District to account for Shs36m or it withdraws further funding to the district.
The money in question was meant for family planning, immunisation, outreaches and other health related programmes.
The decision by UNFPA comes after another UN agency, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (Unicef), suspended funding to Abim following the failure by the district to account for Shs2 billion.
Missing funds
Dr Bernadette Ssebadduka, who led the team to monitor the implementation of the programmes related to health service delivery in the district last week, said he was appalled by the high rate of corruption and failure to account for the funds.
Abim District receives large budgetary support from the UN agencies.
A source that attended the meeting but asked not to be named alleged that a district official was accused of withdrawing Shs36.5m contrary to UNFPA guidelines that required the money to be withdrawn in phases for one year’s activities.
One of the copies of the vouchers which Daily Monitor has seen dated August 28, 2017 indicates that the official withdrew Shs36.5m.
Another voucher indicates that one person signed for several people totalling to Shs160,000 without accountability.
The UNFPA team has also demanded accountability of Shs13 million which was sent to the district through the ministry of Gender for HIV/Aids activities last year.
Mr Nelson Olwit, the acting deputy chief administrative officer confirmed meeting the UNFPA officials but declined to give details.
Mr Samuel Hashaka Mpimbaza, the Abim Resident District Commissioner, who hosted the UNFPA team said: “It is true the UNFPA team is disturbed by the level of corruption in Abim especially in the manner in which the money has been abused.”
Ms Evelyn Kiapi, the UNFPA communications officer, declined to give a comment referring this reporter to Ms Martha Songa who did not answer our repeated calls to her mobile phone.
COMMITTEE ACCUSED
In a related development, Abim District council has censured all the district executive committee members accusing them of incompetence and corruption. The councillors also said the district executive committee has failed to monitor the implementation of various government programmes which has affected service delivery in the area.
