Do A Head Count Of Soldiers
Aug 05, 2003
ARMY paymasters had made it a point to run away with soldiers’ salaries till late 2000 when the army changed from paying by cash to bank accounts.reports <b>>Joshua Kato</b><br>
THE ministry of defence has instituted a committee to probe and end the problem of ghost soldiers. The committee is headed by the minister of defence, Amama Mbabazi, It has Lt. General David Tinyefunza, the high command and the legal committee of the army.
“The purpose of the committee is to probe and solve the problem of ghost soldiers once and for all,†Maj. Shaban Bantariza, the army spokesman says.
The problem of ghost soldiers was first discovered in the army by President Yoweri Museveni in April 1997. Museveni found out that at least sh400m was being lost monthly in ghost payments. This was only in the 4th division Gulu. However, the paymaster of the unit committed suicide soon after the discovery. He had not named any suspects yet.
It was later discovered that ghost soldiers had been in army records since 1989. This is when the records department at Republic house Bulange was burnt, with most of the records. At the time, the ministry of defence realised how grave the problem was and arrested the in-charge of the records department at the time, the late Lt. Colonel Ahmed Kashillingi and his escorts, including China Keitesi. The burning of the records department came moments before a head count of all men and officers of the National Resistance army was made. Old army records had been made in 1987 when NRA soldiers were given official ranks and official numbers. With the records gone, it was difficult to establish how many ghosts were on the lists, neither was it established whether the burning of the records was related to the ghost soldiers.
Commenting on the issue soon after he was dropped, Maj. Gen. James Kazini pointed out that the problem was aggravated when thousands of NRA soldiers deserted in 1990 to go and fight in Rwanda. The exact number of the people who deserted was never established, neither were efforts made to replace them in their various units. But military sources pointed at a figure close to 5,000. “Most of the people who went to Rwanda remained on the payroll, except for those names that were widely known,†an officer in the army says. Their money continued going to their units.
Because the army lacks a centralised computerised system, most soldiers who have died during the endless wars in northern Uganda and Congo have remained on the payroll. It is believed that a ghost scam worth sh400m was uncovered in the Congo in 2001. The issue caused a rift between some of the commanders and a paymaster called Mutengesa, who was subsequently haunted out of the Congo because of his discoveries. Ghost soldiers cause financial loss to the army, since this money is shared among a few people. Ghost soldiers also create false strengths of soldiers on the ground. “We think that we are deploying 700 soldiers, yet in fact we are deploying 500. It affects our operations seriously, because we are supposed to deploy soldiers in companies and platoons,†says an army officer.
He told of one officer who used to lie to his superiors about deployments in the war zone. “He could deploy 80 and say he had deployed 120,†the officer says.
The financial losses are very high. For example, if a unit has 100 ghost privates, with each private supposed to receive sh130,000, the losses amount to sh13m every month. This amount plus the daily ration allowances that the 100 ghosts are receiving can amount to at least sh20m lost monthly in one battalion.
According to one of the officers on the probe committee, losses to ghost soldiers might be as high as sh1b per month throughout the country. “ This is very bad, since this money is paid for services that have not been delivered,†the officer says.
For the ghost system to succeed, the commanding officer of a unit should be in the know, together with the regiment intelligence officer, the regiment sergeant major and the political commissar.
“It would be wrong if for example only the paymaster is blamed. All the leaders of a unit should be questioned on how they have maintained ghosts in their midst for years,†one of the members on the committee says. The problem cuts across the command structure of each unit, and sometimes even reaches the records department.
In the year 2000, the army changed policy from paying by cash to bank accounts. This was intended to discourage officers who were receiving the ghost money. Certainly, it made maintaining ghosts less attractive. Ghosts that could not open bank accounts fell out. However, this only reduced the problem, but did not end it.
Secondly, paymasters had made it a point to run away with soldiers’ salaries. Byakutaga, a paymaster for Operation Safe Haven in the Congo, took off with close to sh1.9b. In 1997, a paymaster for the 53rd battalion took off with sh26m. In 1997, Lt. Paul Kkonde took off with sh53m, meant for soldiers of Gadaffi garrison, Jinja. Cash payment of soldiers continues in war areas. Officers gaining from the ghosts are reportedly utilising this chance to cash in.
Ghosts are not only in the army. The teaching service was once full of ghost teachers, while the Universal Primary Education system was discovered to have ghost pupils in 1998. This problem was solved by having a head count.
“We need to carry out a head count of all soldiers and enter their numbers in a computerised system,†says an officer in the records department. He, however, concedes that this can, be difficult in the current war situation.
The officer says that dead officers should be reported immediately so that they are scrapped from the records.
Ghosts can be removed from the army if there is a very strong will to do so. The committee is banking on information from all army units. They say this information will be handled confidentially.
Ends
“The purpose of the committee is to probe and solve the problem of ghost soldiers once and for all,†Maj. Shaban Bantariza, the army spokesman says.
The problem of ghost soldiers was first discovered in the army by President Yoweri Museveni in April 1997. Museveni found out that at least sh400m was being lost monthly in ghost payments. This was only in the 4th division Gulu. However, the paymaster of the unit committed suicide soon after the discovery. He had not named any suspects yet.
It was later discovered that ghost soldiers had been in army records since 1989. This is when the records department at Republic house Bulange was burnt, with most of the records. At the time, the ministry of defence realised how grave the problem was and arrested the in-charge of the records department at the time, the late Lt. Colonel Ahmed Kashillingi and his escorts, including China Keitesi. The burning of the records department came moments before a head count of all men and officers of the National Resistance army was made. Old army records had been made in 1987 when NRA soldiers were given official ranks and official numbers. With the records gone, it was difficult to establish how many ghosts were on the lists, neither was it established whether the burning of the records was related to the ghost soldiers.
Commenting on the issue soon after he was dropped, Maj. Gen. James Kazini pointed out that the problem was aggravated when thousands of NRA soldiers deserted in 1990 to go and fight in Rwanda. The exact number of the people who deserted was never established, neither were efforts made to replace them in their various units. But military sources pointed at a figure close to 5,000. “Most of the people who went to Rwanda remained on the payroll, except for those names that were widely known,†an officer in the army says. Their money continued going to their units.
Because the army lacks a centralised computerised system, most soldiers who have died during the endless wars in northern Uganda and Congo have remained on the payroll. It is believed that a ghost scam worth sh400m was uncovered in the Congo in 2001. The issue caused a rift between some of the commanders and a paymaster called Mutengesa, who was subsequently haunted out of the Congo because of his discoveries. Ghost soldiers cause financial loss to the army, since this money is shared among a few people. Ghost soldiers also create false strengths of soldiers on the ground. “We think that we are deploying 700 soldiers, yet in fact we are deploying 500. It affects our operations seriously, because we are supposed to deploy soldiers in companies and platoons,†says an army officer.
He told of one officer who used to lie to his superiors about deployments in the war zone. “He could deploy 80 and say he had deployed 120,†the officer says.
The financial losses are very high. For example, if a unit has 100 ghost privates, with each private supposed to receive sh130,000, the losses amount to sh13m every month. This amount plus the daily ration allowances that the 100 ghosts are receiving can amount to at least sh20m lost monthly in one battalion.
According to one of the officers on the probe committee, losses to ghost soldiers might be as high as sh1b per month throughout the country. “ This is very bad, since this money is paid for services that have not been delivered,†the officer says.
For the ghost system to succeed, the commanding officer of a unit should be in the know, together with the regiment intelligence officer, the regiment sergeant major and the political commissar.
“It would be wrong if for example only the paymaster is blamed. All the leaders of a unit should be questioned on how they have maintained ghosts in their midst for years,†one of the members on the committee says. The problem cuts across the command structure of each unit, and sometimes even reaches the records department.
In the year 2000, the army changed policy from paying by cash to bank accounts. This was intended to discourage officers who were receiving the ghost money. Certainly, it made maintaining ghosts less attractive. Ghosts that could not open bank accounts fell out. However, this only reduced the problem, but did not end it.
Secondly, paymasters had made it a point to run away with soldiers’ salaries. Byakutaga, a paymaster for Operation Safe Haven in the Congo, took off with close to sh1.9b. In 1997, a paymaster for the 53rd battalion took off with sh26m. In 1997, Lt. Paul Kkonde took off with sh53m, meant for soldiers of Gadaffi garrison, Jinja. Cash payment of soldiers continues in war areas. Officers gaining from the ghosts are reportedly utilising this chance to cash in.
Ghosts are not only in the army. The teaching service was once full of ghost teachers, while the Universal Primary Education system was discovered to have ghost pupils in 1998. This problem was solved by having a head count.
“We need to carry out a head count of all soldiers and enter their numbers in a computerised system,†says an officer in the records department. He, however, concedes that this can, be difficult in the current war situation.
The officer says that dead officers should be reported immediately so that they are scrapped from the records.
Ghosts can be removed from the army if there is a very strong will to do so. The committee is banking on information from all army units. They say this information will be handled confidentially.
Ends