Abim District | Uganda – Corrupt officials in the Ministry of Water and the Ministry of Agriculture have reportedly been hiding behind the name of Rt. Army General and Coordinator of Operation Wealth Creation, Gen. Salim Saleh, using his name to intimidate anyone who demands accountability for government-funded projects.
According to members of the anti-corruption monitoring team in Karamoja, several officials invoke the name of Gen. Saleh to scare off any individuals who publicly challenge the implementation or quality of various projects in the region.
Raymond Okidi, one of the anti-corruption monitors in Abim, said they have made efforts to engage with officials from the Ministry of Water. However, whenever they ask for accountability on any ongoing projects, the officials tell them to “contact Gen. Salim Saleh.”
“As a local community, we would like to be allowed to sign MOUs and be shown the BOQs of any project coming to our area. But instead, the officials supposed to implement these projects become arrogant and intimidate us, using Gen. Saleh’s name,” he said.
A similar concern was raised in Moroto, where Ministry of Agriculture officials allegedly clashed with community members who demanded explanations about the failed construction of the Shs 12 billion water dam in Nakonyen.
“Instead of explaining to us why the project is failing, they told us to get the answers from Gen. Salim Saleh, saying he is their boss,” said Timothy Lokut.
The anti-corruption monitors are now appealing to Gen. Muhoozi, the Chief of Defence Forces, to extend his anti-corruption efforts to cover Karamoja-based projects as well.
“It’s not that the government doesn’t send money to Karamoja. A lot of funds are allocated here, but these thieves in the Ministries of Water and Agriculture divert the money to fund their personal projects,” said Loru.
