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Kayunga officials on the spot over gifts from head teachers
Pupils of Kayunga Mixed Primary School handover some of the gifts including goats to officials including State Minister for Finance Amos Lugoloobi (right) last month. PHOTO/FRED MUZAALE
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District councillors claim school heads were forced to give gifts to officials
Kayunga District councillors have accused officers of the education department and other leaders of forcing head teachers to give them gifts.
The councillors led by Mr Ismail Ntambi alleged last Thursday during the district council meeting, that the district education officer (DEO), Mr Dan Bubaale and other officials in his department, had issued “an order” to 12 head teachers whose schools had benefited from a project where classrooms and toilets were constructed, to buy “presentable gifts” for the district officials.
The officials, among those, who received what is now being referred to as “corruption gifts” were Mr Amos Lugoloobi, the area member of Parliament; Mr Andrew Muwonge, the district chairman; Mr Bubaale, Mr Moses Ddumba, the resident district commissioner and the district internal security officer, among others.
Each of the top district officials received a goat and chicken plus other gifts while their juniors received a cock and a bunch of bananas at every school during the handover of the projects to the schools.
Some of the 12 schools where classroom blocks were constructed include Namulanda Church of Uganda Primary School, Kiwangula Church of Uganda Primary School, Kayunga Mixed Primary School, St Peter’s Kibuzi SS and Lusenke Primary School.
A total of Shs1.8b was spent on the entire project, according to the DEO.
During the Kayunga District Council meeting, the issue raised eyebrows among a section of district councillors, who asked for the source of the money for the gifts.
The speaker, Mr Saleh Bulinsoni, chaired the meeting.
Mr Ntambi told councillors: “I have received information that because the head teachers received the order to buy the gifts for the officers, as they had not planned for it, they (head teachers) had to run to moneylenders to borrow the money.”
He added: “Now the head teachers are swimming in debts. It is okay for someone to give you a gift in appreciation, but it is wrong when it is an order.”
Some head teachers, who gifted the officials, but refused to be named for fear of being victimised by their superiors, said they spent between Shs2.5m and Shs3m to buy the gifts.
“I had to borrow Shs2.7m because the term was almost ending and I had nowhere to get the money. I am going to pay back in installments,” one of the head teachers said.
Another head teacher said she spent Shs1.2m to buy three goats for the officials and Shs550, 000 to buy other gifts.
“I had to comply with the communication from my boss because if I did not, it would be treated as insubordination,” another headteacher said.
But Mr Bubaale, the DEO, said he did not order the head teachers to buy the gifts. “The head teachers bought the gifts willingly in appreciation of what had been done in their respective schools. We have over 160 schools in this district, but only 12 were lucky to benefit from the project.”
Mr Bulinsoni, however, said that if the gifts were given through coercion and not in good spirit, they were bribes. He, however, said the issue had become contentious because of “envious” councillors who did not receive gifts.
“But they [head teachers] could not appreciate everyone. How much does a mere goat or a bunch of bananas cost?” Mr Bubaale asked.
He explained that in some schools it was members of the parents teachers association (PTA) who mobilised funds for the gifts and the head teachers did not incur any expenses.
