I will not get tired of commending the efforts put in place by the government to fight against corruption in our country. But my worry is when the institution mandated to perform its duties on behalf of the public seems to be failing to be independent and turns to conduct selective investigations.
I have realised that there is no difference between the current leaders of the IGG and the previous leadership of the IGG headed by Mama Betty Kamya.
Hon. Kamya was let down by her own field team, who could reveal sensitive information to the people they were investigating, and in most cases, they were even given money to delay the arrest and interdiction of those accused of corruption.
I am yet to understand whether the same spirit could have transferred itself to the current IGG.
Why do I say this? When you look at the IGG, it is supposed to be an independent constitutional office that leads the fight against corruption, enforces ethical leadership, and promotes administrative justice.
Its role is to investigate, arrest, or prosecute individuals or public officials linked to embezzlement, abuse of office and graft. However, in my own opinion, I have realised that the IGG seems to have bent this without knowing that it is getting compromised.
Look at what is happening in the Ministry of Works. The IGG knows very well the real person who should be held answerable for the mess in the Ministry of Works, but either because the officer has become a source of eating for some IGG staff…
Honestly speaking, the IGG has conducted two investigations related to alleged corruption in the Ministry of Works, but no report has been produced. Now, again, they are conducting what they call a forensic audit. Is this not a hidden move to keep people who should already be culprits in the office?
In my own opinion, and I am entitled to it, I think the whole IGG investigation is being commanded by people who should have been directed to vacate the office to pave way for investigations.
That’s why they rushed to cause the interdiction and dismissal of innocent officers, yet the real people who should have been responsible in the current corruption saga in the Ministry of Works are still in the office.
There is no way you can recommend the interdiction and dismissal of officials who are not decision-makers and leave the people responsible for designing, preparing bidding documents and negotiating the costs of road works.
Let’s look at the loopholes surrounding the Busega-Mpigi Expressway. There is no way you can transfer that mess to junior engineers while leaving Mr. Isaac Wani out of it.
Why has Mr. Wani, Commissioner National Roads in the Ministry of Works, not been interdicted? Sometime back, much as he claims to be a whistleblower, he is not. He was the Director of Roads Design at UNRA by then. He was the chairman of the contracts committee that approved the Busega-Mpigi Expressway contract, even when he knew that its design was not there yet.
He is the one who at first approved the increase of Shs1.8 trillion for the project. This compelled the Ministry of Works then to put in place a separate committee to guide Mr. Wani. This committee did a wonderful job by negotiating the cost of the project down to Shs1.108 trillion.
Instead of respecting the negotiations done by the Ministry of Works, Mr. Wani, either out of greed, went and did his own independent business research and added Shs300 million, which increased the cost of the project to Shs1 trillion without the consent of the Minister, whose role is to communicate the position of the government.
Really, is this not enough evidence that the IGG should have based its investigations on and let Mr. Wani step aside, if it is not true that they are eating together with Wani?
Let’s look at an advert which was run for the position of Commissioner National Roads.
Ministry/Department: Ministry of Works and Transport
Post: Commissioner, National Roads
Scale: U1SE
Terms of Employment: Only staff of the former Uganda National Roads Authority should apply.
Vacancies: 1
Reference: HRM 91/153/01 VOL.5
Minimum Qualification
Applicants should be Ugandans holding an Honours Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering, or any other relevant degree in the field of Civil Engineering, plus a Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering, Structural, Bridge, Highway Engineering, or any other Civil Engineering field from a recognised university or institution.
Applicants must have a Post Graduate Diploma in a management field from a recognised university or institution. Applicants must be registered with the Engineers Registration Board (ERB).
Working Experience
Applicants should have a minimum of twelve (12) years of relevant working experience, three (3) of which should have been served at the level of Assistant Commissioner Civil Engineering in Government or an equivalent level of experience from a reputable organisation.
Duties
The incumbent will be responsible to the Permanent Secretary for performing the following duties:
- Initiating and coordinating the development and review of policies regarding national road development and maintenance;
- Collaborating with international organisations, intergovernmental organisations, agencies of other states, and the private sector on issues related to the development of national roads;
- Planning, designing, and developing the national road infrastructure;
- Developing and enforcing regulations and policies related to the use and management of national roads;
- Securing and managing funding for the construction and maintenance of national roads;
- Developing, maintaining, controlling, and managing national road reserves and facilities;
- Preparing and implementing annual road maintenance programmes;
- Developing, maintaining, and utilising road asset management systems for national roads;
- Managing the performance and development of supervisees in line with the performance management system;
- Performing any other duties as may be assigned from time to time.
Now my question to the IGG is: who is occupying that position currently in the Ministry of Works? Why have you not taken interest in interrogating this person holding that office, bearing in mind that he is the one responsible for the delays or stalled completion of the roads?
Are you not also showing Ugandans that you are corrupt by keeping such a person to continue discharging his duties, yet he should have moved out to pave way for investigations?
Now, with all that job description, my question is: are the IGG investigations targeting Mrs. Allen Kagina and her team, or is the IGG also trying to play a hide-and-seek game with its investigations, with the move to protect people who are supposed to have been interdicted long ago?
Are you also dining with the corrupt with your targeted investigations? Ugandans need that report. Where is it? You conducted two separate investigations. Where is the report?
This is something very serious that I would like to appeal to our President to look into.
I would also like to bring to the attention of our Bad Man General, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, that the IGG investigations seem to be targeting a small group of innocent people, leaving the whole big team that should be answerable to this corruption.
My sources are even telling me that there was a letter sent from State House directing Wani to vacate the office, but unfortunately, Mr. Fred Byamukama, the Minister of Works, together with the current Acting Permanent Secretary, are hiding the letter. But we shall bring out those details in the next article.
I am not witch-hunting anyone, but the truth must be put right so that the investigations and punishment are directed at the real culprits.
Mr. President, what is happening in the Ministry of Works is similar to what happened to Jesus Christ when they took him with two thieves. Some people preferred Jesus to be killed, yet Jesus was doing the right things, resurrecting the dead, making the lame walk and making the blind see. But he was killed.
That is what has happened to the dismissed engineers. They were not responsible for designing the road, procuring the contractor or negotiating the cost, but they have been accused of this, yet the officials responsible for all this are being bypassed by the IGG for unknown reasons.
Something must be fishy here.
The writer is a senior veteran journalist.
