100 to face court over NUSAF scam
Sep 24, 2009
OVER 100 cases of theft and mismanagement of the Northern Uganda Social Action Fund (NUSAF) will be transferred to the Anti-Corruption Court for a speedy trial, the Government has said.
By Mary Karugaba
OVER 100 cases of theft and mismanagement of the Northern Uganda Social Action Fund (NUSAF) will be transferred to the Anti-Corruption Court for a speedy trial, the Government has said.
The office of the Prime Minister was concerned about the slow pace at which the courts and the Police were handling the cases, David Wakikona, the state minister for northern Uganda, told Parliament yesterday.
“It has been long. We are concerned that the individuals who abused NUSAF1 funds have not been sentenced. We are going to write to the Chief Justice to have them transferred,†Wakikona said.
He informed MPs on the presidential affairs committee that NUSAF funds amounting to sh3.3b had not been accounted for, sh2.5b of which was given to community development initiatives.
The funds unaccounted for represent 2% of the total amount of sh169b disbursed under the programme.
The minister was responding to concerns raised by MP Livingstone Okello Okello (UPC) about the delays in trying the suspects.
Okello said most of the suspects had been released on bail and the Government had not followed up the cases. “I propose that these individuals be transferred to the Anti-Corruption Court so that their trial is speeded up. Otherwise, most of them have been left free,†he said.
MPs Betty Acan (FDC), Robert Kashaija (NRM) and Aboud Kitatta (NRM) agreed with him. They complained that despite billions of shillings injected into northern Uganda, poverty levels were still high.
“It is shocking that you are requesting for NUSAF 2 yet the work on the ground is contrary to what was supposed to be done. There is no value for money,†Kashaija said.
According to the list handed over to Parliament, only 15 cases of alleged theft and embezzlement have made it to the courts of law.
Of those, nine are in Kitgum, four in Lira and two in Gulu. They involve alleged theft of millions of shillings by members of the community management committees, the majority for livestock, poultry or piggery projects.
The others are at various levels of investigation by the Police. Many cases involve contractors who allegedly disappeared after they pocketed advances amounting to millions of shillings for work not done.
In 2003, the Government launched NUSAF to assist the north catch up with the rest of the country. The project was expected to close in March 2008 but it was extended to March 2009. It was implemented in 29 districts.
The Government wants Parliament approval of another $100m for the second phase of the programme. Wakikona assured the MPs that unlike the first phase, the funds for the second phase would not be misused.
“I assure you that any chief administrative officer who gets implicated in the misuse of NUSAF funds, will go to Luzira direct,†he said.
He appealed to MPs to pass the budget quickly, arguing that the implementation period had passed. The second phase, will cover 40 districts and should have started on September 1.
See full list of alleged NUSAF corruption cases will be published on Saturday
OVER 100 cases of theft and mismanagement of the Northern Uganda Social Action Fund (NUSAF) will be transferred to the Anti-Corruption Court for a speedy trial, the Government has said.
The office of the Prime Minister was concerned about the slow pace at which the courts and the Police were handling the cases, David Wakikona, the state minister for northern Uganda, told Parliament yesterday.
“It has been long. We are concerned that the individuals who abused NUSAF1 funds have not been sentenced. We are going to write to the Chief Justice to have them transferred,†Wakikona said.
He informed MPs on the presidential affairs committee that NUSAF funds amounting to sh3.3b had not been accounted for, sh2.5b of which was given to community development initiatives.
The funds unaccounted for represent 2% of the total amount of sh169b disbursed under the programme.
The minister was responding to concerns raised by MP Livingstone Okello Okello (UPC) about the delays in trying the suspects.
Okello said most of the suspects had been released on bail and the Government had not followed up the cases. “I propose that these individuals be transferred to the Anti-Corruption Court so that their trial is speeded up. Otherwise, most of them have been left free,†he said.
MPs Betty Acan (FDC), Robert Kashaija (NRM) and Aboud Kitatta (NRM) agreed with him. They complained that despite billions of shillings injected into northern Uganda, poverty levels were still high.
“It is shocking that you are requesting for NUSAF 2 yet the work on the ground is contrary to what was supposed to be done. There is no value for money,†Kashaija said.
According to the list handed over to Parliament, only 15 cases of alleged theft and embezzlement have made it to the courts of law.
Of those, nine are in Kitgum, four in Lira and two in Gulu. They involve alleged theft of millions of shillings by members of the community management committees, the majority for livestock, poultry or piggery projects.
The others are at various levels of investigation by the Police. Many cases involve contractors who allegedly disappeared after they pocketed advances amounting to millions of shillings for work not done.
In 2003, the Government launched NUSAF to assist the north catch up with the rest of the country. The project was expected to close in March 2008 but it was extended to March 2009. It was implemented in 29 districts.
The Government wants Parliament approval of another $100m for the second phase of the programme. Wakikona assured the MPs that unlike the first phase, the funds for the second phase would not be misused.
“I assure you that any chief administrative officer who gets implicated in the misuse of NUSAF funds, will go to Luzira direct,†he said.
He appealed to MPs to pass the budget quickly, arguing that the implementation period had passed. The second phase, will cover 40 districts and should have started on September 1.
See full list of alleged NUSAF corruption cases will be published on Saturday