I would like to commend the President of the Republic of Uganda, H.E. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, for the tough measures he has put in place to eradicate corruption in our country. It is true that corruption has delayed many development projects in our beloved Uganda.
Thank you for the action you took against the individuals cited in the road fund mismanagement scandal in the Ministry of Works. However, as a concerned citizen, I would like to request you, Mr. President, to spare some time and meet with the officials who have since been dismissed from the Ministry of Works.
Mr. President, when allegations of corruption were brought against the former Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among, you summoned her to defend herself. Although there was overwhelming evidence against her, you still gave her an opportunity to be heard.
I would also request that you spare some time to listen to the dismissed engineers, including Eng. Ronald Olaki, Steven Kitonsa, Rogers Kisambira, and others. I believe, Mr. President, that these officials have a lot to tell you, and that some people may not have fully briefed you on the circumstances surrounding the Ministry of Works.
There is a lot of infighting within the Ministry of Works, and there are allegations that some individuals are determined to remove all staff who previously worked with UNRA and later transitioned to the Ministry of Works.
Mr. President, names of relatives of some officials who have remained in the system are already being fronted to serve in acting capacities in offices that were previously occupied by the dismissed officials.
Mr. President, one of the reasons the NRM performed strongly in upcountry regions, especially in Teso and Karamoja, was the improvement in road infrastructure, to which some of the dismissed officials contributed significantly. Other government programmes that contributed to the NRM’s performance include the Parish Development Model (PDM), the Youth Livelihood Programme, the Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme (UWEP), the Northern Uganda Social Action Fund (NUSAF), NAADS, Universal Secondary Education (USE), and Universal Primary Education (UPE).
The writer is a senior veteran journalist.
