ANY DONOR WHO CANNOT GET ACCOUNTABILITY FOR WHAT HE WANTS TO DONATE SHOULD NOT BOTHER
We the people of Uganda are fed up with donors who can not learn. If you give Uganda billions this year and the story is the same as the previous year, why don't you sit down and think of a better strategy instead of threatening to pull out. Whatever the donors want to give Uganda, the reputation is that they are dealing with people who seem not to manage accountability problems well. These are people who are failing to get a difference between their own funds and those of the people of Uganda.
What the donors should do if they are really serious about helping the people of Uganda is to have a slice of what they would give to go to their own administration of the project. If you were to give 100% funds to Government, now, get 70% to the direct beneficiaries and use the 30% to see that process done. Any donor who keeps giving Uganda money he can not follow up, will in the near future be seen as one who was a joint beneficiary of the loot.
There is no need to have quarrels with people who cannot shape up. Just get the funds less by the operating costs, that 70% or so will better benefit the people targets that have it go to people who have no hearts for others.
William Kituuka Kiwanuka
IRISH GOVERNMENT SUSPENDS AID TO UGANDA OVER KAZINDA
By Brian Kwesiga 26/10/2012 12:07:00
Kazinda being taken to Luzira Kazinda being taken to Luzira
Kazinda's Mansion
Whereas the Central bank guidelines requires that all cash payments above Shs15m and non-cash payments in excess of Shs20m are confirmed by calling at least one of the signatures, it was noticed in the period under review of non-cash payment totaling Shs10.9bn were not confirmed with any of the signatory.
Where confirmation was done, it was also noted that whereas the guidelines required confirmation from one of the signatories, most of the confirmations were made with Kazinda yet the accounting officer is the principal signatory.
Payment guidelines require officers in the Central bank should carry out a verification of signatures’ mandate against specimen signatures in the bank.
INVESTIGATION
A review of the sample cash payments above Shs15m and non-cash payments above Shs20m from all OPM accounts over a period of two financial years 2010/11 showed payment instruments totaling Shs13.4bn appeared to have signatures of Bigirimana and under secretary differing from the specimen signatures in BoU, a fact confirmed by signature experts at CID.
A comparison of the signature verification control and the payment confirmation control revealed that all instruments with differing signatures were confirmed by the Kazinda and honored by the bank.
“It should be noted that Kazinda is a custodian of security papers and in all instances his appeared authentic. The involvement of the PA in forged signatures in the circumstances cannot be ignored,” the Auditor General observes.
Meanwhile, it is was noted that after forging documents Kazinda on December 1 2011 and January 30 2012 irregularly credited three accounts with Shs20.1bn from Support to PRDP.
They are 183011PTO11211 (Shs14.8bn), 183111PT30112 (Shs3.5bn) and STP400033300112 (Shs1.7bn). The money ended up in the wrong hands.
Meanwhile, the newspaper further reported that Ireland has had an aid programme in Uganda since 1994 and funding last year amounted to €32.75 million.
Pius Bigirimana's signiture was forged
The overall Government aid programme to all developing countries is €639 million this year, compared with €920 million in 2008.
A statement from Iveagh House said his draft report, which had just been made available to donors in Kampala, found there had been significant financial mismanagement in relation to the development programme for war-torn northern Uganda.
“The programme was established to rebuild the region after decades of conflict and devastation. It has been supported by Ireland and a number of other donors, including Norway, Sweden and Denmark.
“The auditor general has found that funding received from Ireland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark last year was transferred to unauthorised accounts.
“His draft report states that up to €4 million in Irish Aid funding provided in 2011 was transferred to an unauthorised account of the office of the prime minister.”
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Aid money used to buy 8 ministers cars
By YASIIN MUGERWA
Posted Monday, November 19 2012 at 02:
Almost Shs2 billion in development aid meant for post-war recovery efforts in northern Uganda and Karamoja sub-region was used to purchase luxury vehicles for ministers in the Premier’s office, according to information before the Public Accounts Committee.
Beneficiaries of the new cars include Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi and five other ministers.
The officials are entitled to government cars but MPs say they will probe how the cars were bought using money meant to help needy people in northern Uganda rebuild their lives after two decades of war.
Listed among the recipient offices are the Prime Minister, who besides a Mercedes Benz, also had two cars for his convoy purchased off the money. Others who got a car each are a Deputy Prime Minister, the Karamoja Affairs minister, Information, Teso Affairs and Bunyoro Affairs ministers.
The MPs are also investigating the whereabouts of at least Shs400 million that the Ministry of Finance had released to OPM to buy cars, but which was not spent for that purpose.
At least Shs400m was given to M/s Spear Motors Ltd; M/s Toyota Ltd took over Shs1 billion for six ministers’ vehicles (about Shs200m each).
The money was paid off a stash that had been secretly diverted from the Peace Recovery and Development Programme and hidden in a secret account operated by Permanent Secretary Pius Bigirimana and other top officials at OPM.
Procurement for the cars for the new ministers had started in June 2011 and were completed by October last year. However, it is not clear why, instead of using the money sent by Finance, OPM officials diverted the money for Acholi and Karamoja.
Several donor nations including the UK, Norway, Sweden, Ireland and Denmark, which had provided in excess of Shs70 billion for reconstruction efforts in northern Uganda and poverty reduction interventions in Karamoja, have since cut their aid over the corruption in OPM.
Yesterday, MPs said they would demand answers. “The ministers and permanent secretary will have to answer why money for the poor was used to buy them vehicles,” Lwemiyaga MP Theodore Ssekikubo (NRM) said.
The Youth MP Western, Mr Gerald Karuhanga (Independent), told Daily Monitor yesterday that Mr Mbabazi’s new Benz was worth Shs400 million, adding that he would be asked to explain the purchase. It is not clear whether the ministers knew about the source of the money that was used to buy their vehicles.
Meanwhile, Bank of Uganda officials are expected in PAC today to explain their role in the loss of millions of dollars in foreign aid.
ymugerwa@ug.nationmedia.com
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