Buturo to account for sh3m allowance
Jan 03, 2006
Information state minister Nsaba Buturo took money for a journey to Malaysia but he never travelled and has never refunded the money, The New Vision has learnt.
By Emmy Allio
Information state minister Nsaba Buturo took money for a journey to Malaysia but he never travelled and has never refunded the money, The New Vision has learnt.
The minister was expected to attend the Sixth Conference of the Ministers of Information of Non-Aligned Countries in Kuala Lumpur, that opened on November 21, 2005. The organisers paid for air tickets and hotel accommodation.
About 70 member countries of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) sent delegations to attend the conference, which was officiated at by Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, but Uganda’s chair was not occupied.
Sources said Buturo demanded for a per diem of US$1,700 (about sh3.1m) from the Permanent Secretary in the Office of the President, Tecla Kinalwa.
“Although it was clear that he took the money, he has not yet refunded the money,†a source in the information ministry said.
Buturo admitted picking the money but blamed his failure to travel on the NRM delegates’ conference at the Nelson Mandela Sports Stadium in Namboole. He also said he had received an emergent assignment from President Yoweri Museveni.
“Its true I took the money and I was supposed to travel to Malaysia. But state duties and the Namboole conference held me back,†the minister said.
“I discussed the issue of the money with my Director of Information and we agreed that I will account for it when I take another trip,†Buturo said.
A ministry source said Buturo, who was expected to deliver a paper during the conference, decided not to send a representative.
The Malaysia conference agreed on setting up the NAM News Network (NNN), which is an Internet-based news exchange centre aimed at presenting accurate news on NAM countries rather than biased news as portrayed by some western media.
The conference endorsed the Kuala Lumpur Declaration, which aims to intensify South-South cooperation in the field of information and communication and bridge the information divide among NAM countries.
Information state minister Nsaba Buturo took money for a journey to Malaysia but he never travelled and has never refunded the money, The New Vision has learnt.
The minister was expected to attend the Sixth Conference of the Ministers of Information of Non-Aligned Countries in Kuala Lumpur, that opened on November 21, 2005. The organisers paid for air tickets and hotel accommodation.
About 70 member countries of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) sent delegations to attend the conference, which was officiated at by Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, but Uganda’s chair was not occupied.
Sources said Buturo demanded for a per diem of US$1,700 (about sh3.1m) from the Permanent Secretary in the Office of the President, Tecla Kinalwa.
“Although it was clear that he took the money, he has not yet refunded the money,†a source in the information ministry said.
Buturo admitted picking the money but blamed his failure to travel on the NRM delegates’ conference at the Nelson Mandela Sports Stadium in Namboole. He also said he had received an emergent assignment from President Yoweri Museveni.
“Its true I took the money and I was supposed to travel to Malaysia. But state duties and the Namboole conference held me back,†the minister said.
“I discussed the issue of the money with my Director of Information and we agreed that I will account for it when I take another trip,†Buturo said.
A ministry source said Buturo, who was expected to deliver a paper during the conference, decided not to send a representative.
The Malaysia conference agreed on setting up the NAM News Network (NNN), which is an Internet-based news exchange centre aimed at presenting accurate news on NAM countries rather than biased news as portrayed by some western media.
The conference endorsed the Kuala Lumpur Declaration, which aims to intensify South-South cooperation in the field of information and communication and bridge the information divide among NAM countries.