Ogoola hearings conclude

Apr 13, 2006

THE public hearings of the commission of inquiry into the mismanagement of the Global Fund have ended, with probe chairman Justice James Ogoola comparing the six-month exercise to audit of Uganda’s moral standing.

By John Odyek
and Jude Etyang


THE public hearings of the commission of inquiry into the mismanagement of the Global Fund have ended, with probe chairman Justice James Ogoola comparing the six-month exercise to audit of Uganda’s moral standing.

“What we have been dealing with amounts to no less than an audit of our country’s moral standing. I have said before that the moral fiber of this country is in a shaky condition. It is our privilege and responsibility to put what we find to mend the moral fiber of Uganda,” Ogoola said in a passionate closing statement at the UMA Hall yesterday.

He said the commission which started last September after appointment by President Yoweri Museveni and sworn in at state House Nakasero had examined over 150 witnesses and obtained about 500 exhibits. He asked for special prayers for the commission as it embarks on writing a report.
Among the witnesses were the three ministers of health led by Maj. Gen. Jim Muhwezi.

He said the hearings were done in the open, in a transparent manner and not a single hearing was done in camera. He said Uganda’s public funds were at stake requiring an open public accountability.

He said the PricewaterhouseCoopers report, which led to the suspension of Global Fund grants last August, had a list of 30 organisations bearing allegations of mismanagement but that the commission wanted to go deeper and check 150 beneficiaries of the fund.

The commission also investigated how beneficiaries were selected and if they were capable of carrying out AIDS, Malaria and TB activities.

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