Rt. Hon. Anita Among, the Speaker of Parliament, has issued a fervent call for accountability, directing the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) to account for a staggering UGX 1.9 billion allocated for ‘coffee consumption’
During the plenary session on September 7th, Among asserted, “We want to know who disbursed that money and who benefitted from it. We need that money and the person who benefitted from it must bear the liability.”
Calls for a probe stems from a damning report by the Public Accounts Committee (Central Government), which raised red flags by the Auditor General for the Financial Year 2021/2022.
The report unveils a web of corruption and financial mismanagement entrenched in 15 government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
Committee Chairperson, Hon. Medard Lubega Sseggona (Busiro East), disclosed that as part of the NUSAF-III program, OPM entered a two-year partnership with M/S Inspire Africa Uganda Limited for capacity building.
The program, running from May 16th, 2017, to May 15th, 2019, was extended to March 31st, 2021, allotting a staggering UGX 9.66 billion to Inspire Africa.
“The Committee takes exception that UGX 9.66 billion had been invested in a project that was not well thought out, with UGX 1.9 billion being paid for coffee consumption,” read the report.
Hon. Sseggona decried this expenditure on teaching coffee consumption as a frivolous outlay. He further lamented the absence of functional coffee shops in Arua, Mbale, Lira, and Tororo, except for one in Gulu.
Investigations disclosed that the allocated UGX 9.66 billion for teaching Ugandans about coffee consumption under OPM’s purview was grossly mismanaged, yielding no discernible results.
When a team of CIDs visited Malaba, they found the coffee shop shuttered due to Inspire Africa’s failure to involve trained youth. In Arua, only two individuals were aware of the coffee teaching initiative.
In light of these shocking revelations, Parliament resolutely called for a comprehensive and independent investigation by the Inspector General of Government (IGG) into OPM officials responsible for establishing these teaching centers. Those found culpable for mismanaging taxpayer funds will face legal repercussions.
Parliament also urgently ordered the recovery of the misused funds within a strict six-month timeframe. Sseggona emphasized, “If found wanting, the Accounting Officer and Project Director for NUSAF-III project should be prosecuted for any loss of funds. A recovery mechanism should be instituted within six months of adoption of this report.”
Hon. Betty Aol Ocan (FDC, Gulu City) revealed that while the Gulu coffee shop had once been operational, it had closed due to Inspire Africa’s failure to pay rent. She lamented, “It was meant to be a youth project and it was run for close to three years.”
Hon. Yusuf Mutembuli (NRM, Bunyole East) recounted his experience at the Inspire Africa coffee shop in Mbale, expressing dissatisfaction with its failure to fulfill its intended purpose of ‘coffee consumption’.
He stated, “Nobody came to tell me how to take coffee when I was there. If they gave money for purposes of teaching people how to take coffee, then I did not benefit from it.”
The Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Matthias Mpuuga, urged the House to exercise stricter vigilance in monitoring social empowerment programs.
He emphasized, “It is an invitation to the House that whenever such programs are brought here for funding, we should undertake elaborate scrutiny on how the common person will benefit.”
This revelation compounds a series of scandals involving the OPM, casting a shadow over its integrity.
Recent controversies, including the Iron Sheets and Goats sagas intended for Karamoja locals, have been marred by allegations of preferential treatment for government officials, leaving the public questioning the stewardship of taxpayer funds.
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