Councillors want treasurer to undergo mental checkup

Fort Portal municipality councillors have recommended that the municipal principle treasurer Simon Karamagi be taken for a mental check-up.

The recommendation followed dramatic scenes on Friday where Karamagi failed to answer financial queries during a council session held at Boma.

The municipal authorities accused the principle treasurer for failing to present an income and expenditure statement to municipal committees and the executive as well as clearing pending departmental claims.

When pressed hard to explain, Karamagi turned chaotic and stormed out of the council hall and picked stones to throw at councillors who attempted to forcefully get him back into the hall.

"On the conduct of Karamagi, the council is ashamed by his actions. We can't continue being taken for granted" Joseph Musirikale a councillor from Nyabukara said.

Musirikale proposed that the principle treasure be suspended from duty and taken for a mental check-up at the expense of the municipal council.

"Having seen how a head of department in the names of Simon Karamagi behaves he requires to be examined to establish whether or not he is mentally stable. Council should facilitate the costs of this treatment" Musirikale said.

He was seconded by John Rugamba who also faulted Karamagi for trying to fail the daily operations of the municipality.

"As council we had very high esteem in Karamagi but he has let us down and we now doubt his integrity. As he is being examined let the town clerk assign another person to the office of the principle treasurer so that council can continue running" Rugamba said.

The councillors also want the office of the town clerk to reprimand Karamagi.

Francis Emukol the municipal town clerk however informed the council that reprimanding the principle treasurer may not be possible at this time since he is in the final stages of preparing and submitting the municipal budget estimates to the ministry of finance.

"These accounts are being produced on a system which the junior staff may not be well conversant with" Emukol said.

Emukol angered the councillors after he informed council that he cannot take administrative action against Karamagi because there isn't enough evidence against him.

The town clerk argued that his office cannot take administrative action against the principle treasure without a recommendation from the municipal executive committee.

The Mayor Rev Kintu Willy Muhanga said that the municipality is currently in a financial crisis after Karamagi failed to effectively perform his duties.

"This is not something to play about because I personally cannot accept to work with Karamagi anymore because he is the biggest obstacle I have had since I came into power. I cannot accept him to continue failing the development of Fort Portal" Muhanga said.