By Samuel Oduny

THE rampant corruption in the country has no political party contrary to what some people are trying to say and it has no link to the NRM party.

Parliament of Uganda has so far spent a lot of time debating the billions of money claimed to be lost in the Office of the Prime Minister but has never come out with a way forward to the problem.

When we are fighting corruption in Uganda we should not associate it with any political party. We should all come out and reject the few people who are deliberately swindling funds that are meant for various developmental purposes. 

It is very sad to hear that 50 billion meant to rehabilitate the war ravaged region of northern Uganda which suffered from the notorious Joseph Kony insurgency has been stolen by the big shots in the Prime Minister’s Office.

When war broke out in northern Uganda in 1986, President Museveni appointed Mrs. Betty Bigombe to make sure the war came to an end. Mrs.Bigombe did her best to talk to the rebels to stop war in the region.

With the support of UPDF the war eventually came to an end.

What came next was to look for money to rehabilitate the people of the region who suffered for 20 years of insurgency.

It sounds awkward when people who are meant to be technical in running the day to day work in Government Offices just decide to divert the funds for aggrandizement without caring that the people of northern Uganda suffered in the hands of Kony and his henchmen.

Unless the people of Uganda realize that it should be a collective work to fight corruption, the country may never fully fight the vice.

Even if corruption is carried out by big shots or lower people in Government the act will remain corruption.

When we label this corruption to be an NRM vise as a political party, then we are not on the way to solve the issue.

The laws of the country that allow court bail has so far  become a big problem in fighting corruption in Uganda and that is the reason most of the corrupt elements get themselves out of prisons.

In the case of some NRM members who are involved in current corruption case in the OPM, the party should take a serious action against them or call a party delegates conference so that members discuss the way forward.

Delegates Conference of a party is important to correct weaknesses in the system.

Northern Uganda is a region that in a normal situation should have had a full cabinet Minister so that whichever funds that is meant for the area could be handled by such an office.

Comparatively speaking we would equate the region to Karamoja that has a full Cabinet minister in the name of the First Lady, Janet Museveni. 

Karamoja region for some time had State Ministers but currently it has been uplifted to have a Cabinet minister.

Leaving northern Uganda in the general Office of the Prime Minister will always mean throwing the money into the hands of unreliable people who do not know how much the region suffered during the insurgency and still continues to suffer up to date.

Well I appeal to the people of Uganda to appreciate the great work done by the NRM Government.

The corrupt people in the Government Offices are just trying to tarnish the achievements so far made in the last 20 years and beyond.

The writer is a former soldier in the defunct UNLA