Kagadi leadership calls for officials’ suspension over hiring of grader

7 May 2024, 8:09 am

By James Muhumuza

Kagadi district officials have on several occasions been on spot for alleged misuse of public funds.

Members of the roads committee, led by the Kagadi district Woman Member of Parliament Jennifer Kyomuhendo Mbabazi, have asked the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Pauline Opio Opodoi to interdict members of the District engineering department over allegations of abuse of office.

This happened yesterday during a heated meeting held at Kagadi district headquarter boardroom in Kagadi town council, Kagadi district.

This move aims to allow the police to conduct thorough investigations.

The district engineers stand accused of colluding with operators of road equipment to unlawfully hire out machinery for private works.

This controversy emerged following an incident two weeks ago when a grader, registered as UG 1706W, was discovered operating on a private site at the Bukinda Small Hydropower Project in Buhumuliro Sub County.

Allegedly, the grader was hired out to the project by its operator, Ambrose Tumwine, and the turn man, Deo Bamanya, along with other unidentified district officials.

It is claimed that the equipment was leased to the project at the cost of one million shillings.

In response, officials from the Ministry of Works conducted an impromptu visit to the district last week.

They promptly transported the road equipment back to their headquarters in Kampala.

Fred Byamukama, the State Minister for Works and Transport, condemned the act, labeling it as wrongful, criminal, and illegal.

Byamukama highlighted that despite the government allocating 1.138 billion shillings to the district for road maintenance, over 600 million shillings remains unutilized in the district account.

He suggested that this unused funding could be reclaimed to the consolidated fund.

Expressing disappointment, Members of Parliament, including Barnabas Tinkasimire (MP Buyaga West), Eric Musana (MP Buyaga East), and Jennifer Mbabazi (District Woman MP), called for decisive action against the mismanagement of road equipment.

They demanded the interdiction of suspects, as the district leadership plans to meet with ministers of works and transport in Kampala to address the grader saga.

The Kagadi Resident District Commissioner Lillian Ruteraho highlighted the lack of supervision of local government employees in Kagadi District.

She pointed out that many employees are exploiting government equipment for personal gains, at the expense of taxpayers’ money.

Meanwhile, District Chairperson Ndibwami B Yosia assured that the police will conduct thorough investigations to identify all officers involved in the scandal of hiring the grader for private work on April 21st of this year.