Prime
Arua leaders reject Covid cash over irregularities
A man counts money. The leaders said the list generated by the Office of Prime Minister left out Ayivu Division, that was annexed to Arua City. PHOTO | FILE
Leaders of Arua City last week protested the disbursement of Covid-19 relief money, saying the process was marred with irregularities.
The leaders said the list generated by the Office of Prime Minister left out Ayivu Division, that was annexed to Arua City.
The ministry had presented a list of 10,202 people with about 3,877 selected to receive the cash.
“We noted that this 10,202 [list] is only a population of Arua Central Division and Ayivu Division was left out. But when we combined the data of the two divisions, there were supposed to be 7,762 vulnerable people. We have asked for an update on this data by the ministry,” Mr Cornelius Jobile, the deputy city clerk, said last Wednesday.
He said they also discovered that some of the beneficiaries were no longer residents of Arua City while others lacked National Identification Numbers.
“Even the timeframe provided for registration is too short and this has made us recruit more entrants from five to 13. We shall ensure that the process is done transparently,” he said.
According to 2014 Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) statistics, Ayivu Division has a population of 46,380 people , while Central Division has10,202.
No transparency
The city mayor, Mr Sam Nyakua, said the process was not transparent because many vulnerable groups were left out.
“Even the criteria of the selection of the people is questionable. We do not want things to be done with a lot of irregularities like this. How will we account to the people if those of Ayivu division are left out?” he asked.
The MP for Ayivu East Division, Mr Geoffrey Feta, said the allocation was erroneously done.
“If the bigger number of people do not benefit, it will cause chaos, which we need to avoid,” he said.
Responding to the concerns, the State Minister for Northern Uganda, Ms Grace Kwiyucwiny, said: “We shall ensure that the revised population is captured so that the money comes directly to the intended beneficiaries. If the figures seem suppressed, it will be captured in the verification exercise.”
The registration was based on records from the city council.
“People have been dislodged and are not getting money for their livelihood. So, we need to ensure that every money to be sent is not diverted,” Ms Kwiyucwiny said.
The Minister of State for Education and Sports (Primary Education), Dr Joyce Moriku, who was in the area to oversee the disbursement, said: “If there are challenges, we need to address them so that this little money can go the beneficiaries within the stipulated time.” Government started distributing the money last week.
