The Apac Anti-Corruption Coalition (TAACC) has issued a two-week ultimatum to Kwania district leaders to recover sh8m that was meant to rehabilitate the 4.5km Too Pee Yero-Omer to Inomo town council community access road.
In the 2022/2023 Financial Year, Inomo sub-county leaders received the funds from the Uganda Road Fund. The money was part of the sh500m Road fund disbursed to the district to rehabilitate roads in different sub-counties and town councils in the district.
However, it is alleged that the money meant to work on the road was misused by the then sub-county Chief Felix Ambrosi Yine and his Sub Accountant Okila Humphrey. Report from an audit carried out by the District Internal Auditor in the 2022/2023 F/Y shows that the two officers submitted a forged report to the district Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that work was done but after monitoring of the said project, it was found out that no substantial work was done on the road.
The audit report indicated that the officials mismanaged the funds meant to work on the road. Subsequently, the Public Accounts Committee recommended the recovery however despite these misappropriations, the two officers implicated in the scandal are yet to recover the money two years later raising concerns.
While presenting the monitoring report during the Annual Dialogue Meeting held on Friday at West Lango diocesan headquarters, Felix George Arum Ojok, the Coordinator of Contract Monitoring System (COS) Projects at the Apac Anti-Corruption Coalition said they received more than 60 reports of alleged misappropriation of public funds on key procurement and contract issues from the two districts of Apac and Kwania.
Robert Okwanga Alem, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer of Kwania acknowledged receiving the complaints of the alleged misappropriation.
Okwanga said they have already attached the salaries of the affected staff of Inomo sub-county to recover the stolen road funds.
Betty Amongi, Ajok Parish female councillor who doubles as the Secretary of Works and Technical Services at Inomo sub-county, argued that attaching the salaries of the affected staff is delaying service delivery to the people of Inomo sub-county, accusing the political leaders in the district of conniving with some technocrats to swindle public fund.
Amongi explained that they raised several concerns about the misuse of public funds to the district leaders but they have paid deaf ears, citing the 35 million shillings allocated for the construction of the sub-county headquarters that was allegedly embezzled by the former Chief Jenifer Otyeka.
Geoffrey Eling Owera, the Kwania District Vice Chairman who is also the Leader of Government Business said the district is aware of the overwhelming cases of alleged mismanagement of public funds.
He attributed the delay in recovering the said fund to bureaucracy in the local government systems.
Ceasar Obada, Assistant Resident District Commissioner (RDC) Kwania implored stakeholders in Kwania to do joint monitoring of the key government programs in the district for effective implementation.