Outcry as officials in PDM money scam remain in office
Uganda's legal tender. PHOTO/COURTESY
What you need to know:
- The six committed to refunding the Shs289m and on August 30, Shs120m was wired to the district account and the balance was to be paid within 5 days.
Kabale residents have claimed that district officials implicated in mismanagement of Parish Development Model (PDM) funds amounting to Shs289m continuing to occupy their offices.
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Speaking at a press conference organised by the National Economic Empowerment Dialogue (NEED) in Kampala, Ms Charlotte Kemigisha, a resident of Kabale, said this is unacceptable as the six individuals could mismanage the funds again.
“I don’t understand how one can openly admit that they misused money, refund part of it but are allowed to continue being in office. It’s like telling them to go and steal more money,” she said.
Mr Christmas Turyomurugyendo, also a resident of Kabale, said people are worried because the government is doing nothing about such acts of corruption.
“If funds meant for the struggling man at the bottom of the chain are being misused at district level, then there is no hope for the struggling citizens who are relying on this PDM project. What is worrying is that the same people who misused this money are now back in office to receive more money and misuse it again,” he said.
What ministry says
But the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of local government, Mr Ben Kumumanya, said the individuals in question did not embezzle the funds.
“The officers did not embezzle the money; it was diverted to other activities, which were not part of PDM. So we rejected their accountability and asked them to refund the money, which they did fully,” he said.
He added: “There are different punishments for mischarge and embezzlement; what happened there was a mischarge, and the punishment for that is that the individuals refund the money, which they did. So you can’t punish someone twice by having them refund the money and then stop them from going to their offices.”
On August 26, Mr Edmund Ntimba, the former chief administrative officer; Mr Christopher Namara, the community development officer; Mr Beda Mwebesa, the production and marketing officer; and Mr Boaz Kakuru, the planning officer, were arrested after they failed to account for the missing funds.
Mr Erasmus Natumanya, the district commercial officer; and Mr Julius Mujuni, the district chief finance officer; were also apprehended three days later about the mismanagement of the funds.
The six committed to refunding the Shs289m and on August 30, Shs120m was wired to the district account and the balance was to be paid within 5 days, which Mr Kumumanya confirmed they did.
