Uganda’s State Minister for Microfinance Hon. Kyeyune Haruna Kasolo has promised to track down and detain all local leaders who swindled the Presidential Initiative on Wealth and Job Creation (Emyooga) funds throughout the country.
Speaking to SACCO leaders in Kaliro district, Minister Kasolo also made it clear that citizens who failed to repay Emyoga loans to respective SACCOS are to face inevitable arrest, such that the law takes its own course.
Aside of that, he thanked the locals for embracing the Presidential Initiative on Wealth and Job Creation.
Minister Kasolo is currently on a nationwide campaign of transversing districts, while assessing the effectiveness of Emyoga development funds in doing their intended purpose.
While in Kaliro, he decried the chaos and lack of transparency in the process of distributing these funds by responsible parties, which he said was marred by gross corruption and seeking kickbacks.
Other individuals, said minister Kasolo, instead of conducting an equitable distribution of these funds, wrongly diverted them to their pockets and used them to satisfy their ego and selfish interests.
He also ordered the immediate arrest of former Kaliro District Commercial Officer, Christopher Muwanika, for taking kickbacks from SACCOS meant to benefit from the Presidential Innitiative on Job and Wealth creation, and set aside a reward of UGX. 1 million for anyone with information leading to his arrest.
“I will be back, and I will oversee this operation for about two days in each district, I will not just meet with leaders, I will also transverse Sub-counties and listen to citzens’ complaints, and also to arrest and detain those who refuse to refund the money, the defaulters will be jailed, I will come with jailers and this process might take two months and several constituencies have been given two months to put right what went wrong. There is this commercial officer, who perpetuated this chaos, I will trace his whereabouts by announcing him on Televisions, send his pictures and anyone who will supply information leading to his arrest will get a reward of one million,”Minister Kasolo warned.
“That commercial officer called Muwanika, tell him any time I land on him, I will jail him from very far to the extent that no one will ever set their eyes on him again. Now I urge you to advise him to go to police. Wherever he identifies a police post, let him go there and surrender,” he added.
During the same meeting, the zonal manager for Busoga region Nduho Mugyenyi termed Muwanika a “rogue” and explained that many SACCOs claimed to have lost money to him through forcefully taking the funds using threats, deceiving SACCO leaders that he was helping them to bank the money, registering his own people and adding them as part of these SACCOs, taking their assets with a promise of bringing them back, wrongly soliciting money from SACCO leaders, and borrowing from these financial institutions with false promises that he would pay back.
Also speaking to these SACCO leaders, Member of Parliament for Bulamogi constituency in Kaliro district Sanoni Bwiire Nadeeba urged responsible leaders in Kaliro district to carry out a scrutiny in their operations because government disburses huge amounts of funds intended to develop citizens but these monies are rather swindled by a few individuals, mostly local leaders.
As part of his campaign to monitor the performance of Emyooga program, Minister Kasolo freshly arrived in Kaliro district on Tuesday to evaluate its effectiveness in bailing Ugandans out of poverty.
District SACCO leaders whom he spoke to also implicated the district treasurer and the chairman Lc3 Bukamba Sub-county for conniving with Muwanika to steal Emyooga funds.
Minister Kasolo also asked the DPC to record statements from SACCO leaders, who further pointed an accusing finger to Christopher Muwanika and his co-accused.
Do you have a story in your community or an opinion to share with us: Email us at editorial@watchdoguganda.com
