Mr. President, ever since you launched the anti-corruption crusade in Bulambuli District, a lot of irregularities have been discovered in many ministries, such as the Ministry of Local Government, the Ministry of Education, and now it has shifted to the Ministry of Energy and Rural Development, where over Shs 17 billion has no clear accountability.
This is an indication that there is no ministry that is free of corruption. If you want to know that there is a high level of corruption, go to Karamoja and visit livelihood projects under the Resilience Project. You will shed tears. Billions of shillings from the World Bank were spent on this Resilience Project, but nothing is clearly seen in Karamoja.
The Shs 75 billion supplementary budget that was approved by the 11th Parliament for the construction of dams in Karamoja and Teso to mitigate floods was channeled to the Ministry of Agriculture, but not a single dam was constructed in these areas apart from the existing dams that were constructed during the time when the First Lady was the Karamoja Minister.
When you visit Moroto, go to the Nakonyen grazing area, where the Ministry of Agriculture spent over Shs 47 billion on a non-existent dam. Visit Kosike in Amudat; there is no sign of a dam, yet money was spent. Visit Kakomongole in Nakapiripirit District; there was supposed to be a major dam in that place, but to this day no dam exists there. Lotome Sub-county was also supposed to have a dam. Money was allocated, but nothing is on the ground. Billions were spent to buy tractors for Karamoja, and each district received a tractor from the Ministry of Agriculture, but right now not a single tractor is seen in any district of Karamoja. Many projects are no longer in existence. Now the question is: where is the money?
I want to thank you, Mr. President, for stepping up the fight against corruption with the current move by Hon. Balaam and Namere. I am sure the country will be free from corruption.
The writer is a senior veteran journalist.
