The district speaker for Mukono, Betty Hope Nakasi, has firmly denied allegations of corruption within her council, emphasising that their recent recognition was a service award.
Nakasi clarified that the distributed money is a regular allowance given to councillors for monitoring activities at the end of each financial year, a practice that has been in place for nearly three years.
“It used to be over UGX 1 million, but as the number of councillors increased, it reduced to UGX 520,000. This money is given to appreciate the work done in their communities without facilitation. To label this as corruption is wrong,” she noted.
This statement comes in the wake of similar accusations against parliament commissioners, who are alleged to have allocated themselves UGX 1.7 billion, prompting a public outcry that the funds could have been better spent on essential services.
For the past week, the Mukono district council and Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) have faced severe criticism over claims of corruption and abuse of office.
Elizabeth Namanda, the CAO, along with eight other officials, were summoned to the Regional Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) Headquarters on Jinja Road to address these allegations.
Patrick Onyango, the Kampala Metropolitan Police Spokesperson, revealed that a general inquiry file had been opened to investigate embezzlement, financial loss, and abuse of office.
It was found that the CAO distributed UGX 520,000 among 43 councillors to secure budget approval in May, although the source of the funds remains unclear.
Regarding Bernard Ssempaka, a councillor from Nakifuma-Naggalama town council, who claimed to have received extra allowances of UGX 640,000 for two sittings despite being suspended, Nakasi pointed out that the issue should be addressed by the district chief finance officer and the clerk to the council.
“I suspended him for indiscipline after he falsely accused the council. This was done in the presence of the CAO and the clerk, our financial controllers. They should explain how the councillor ended up receiving payments,” she said.
Ssempaka maintains that the allowances were improperly given, suspecting it might be an attempt to tarnish his reputation.
Despite the ongoing accusations, CAO Elizabeth Namanda has not publicly addressed the issues. She is currently facing intense criticism for alleged mismanagement of funds and poor administrative skills.
Namanda has counter-accused some individuals, including councillors who reported the mismanagement, of computer misuse.
These counter-accusations have been transferred to the appropriate jurisdiction, and the police have confirmed that some of the accused have recorded statements, including councillor Samuel Odongo from Nama sub-county.
Odongo, in a recent conversation, stated that the counter-accusations are attempts to undermine his anti-corruption efforts.
Other police investigations include the failure to remit 75% of property tax collected by the town council and 25% of revenue from other local governments.
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