Joseph Ayolo, Nabilatuk — Residents of Nabilatuk district in the Karamoja region have applauded accountability meetings organized by the Karamoja Anti-Corruption Coalition, describing them as an open opportunity to question government officials.
The first Baraza meeting was held on Thursday at Nataparangan parish in Nabilatuk sub-county. During the meeting, locals urged civil servants to avoid destroying the support for the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party by failing to fulfill their responsibilities to the community.
Rymond Lokut, one of the participants, said such barazas help locals identify corrupt officials who deceive people. “They are good at paperwork accountability but when it comes to physical accountability, it’s zero. These meetings help us to challenge them properly,” he said.
Betty Nakiru, another participant, said most officials write accountability reports for projects that were not done and misappropriate the funds. “We want these kinds of meetings to continue so that we can shame the corrupt officials in our district,” she said.
The accountability meeting was supported by the Royal Danish Embassy and GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) through the Karamoja Anti-Corruption Coalition.
Dr. Mukisa Ayub, the director of the Karamoja Anti-Corruption Coalition, said they will continue to hold accountability meetings and train anti-corruption monitors to demand accountability from the government.
