By Johannah Nantongo
President Museveni has commended his two ministers holding the Local Government docket Balaam Barugahara and Justine Nameere ,saying they are spot on in their fight against corruption .
In a missive to critics of the reenergized crackdown on thieving local government workers, Museveni said the duo need to be supported if Uganda is to get rid of graft.
Below is full statement
Fellow Ugandans, especially the Bazzukulu. Greetings.
I am writing to comment on the field inspection tours of Hons. Barugahara and Nameere and possibly others in future. Some of the commentators were worried that this may be Kutomera (bumping into issues blindly). This is most unlikely. Why?
It is on account of the impunity and frequency of the corruption occurrences and the unaccountable actors. I have told you before, that during the campaigns, my campaigns had to be interrupted to deal with the information from the angry citizens about corruption in PDM, etc.
Earlier on, I had met a delegation of elders from the Bunyoro area talking about the selling of local Government jobs. There are numerous stories about the ghosts of learners and teachers in Government Schools, as well as health centres of the Government.
Therefore, the fear that the Barugaharas and Nameeres may Kutomera, may not be based on facts. The challenge now is for the DPP to have a dedicated officer that can quickly assess the abundant evidence against these criminals so that they are prosecuted.
The main problems on the issue of corruption have been two: the cover up by the responsible officials that should be protecting national interests and the failure to report by the elite that have access to the decision-making centres.
That is why Barugahara and Nameere, by going to the People directly in the form of Barazas (Public gatherings), have by-passed the blockade of the thieves manned by the responsible elements of the elite.
Some of the elite are, however, patriotic. One of them is Hon. Byamukama, who exposed to me the racket of extorters that were operating in the State House, here. He reported them to me and we trapped the thieves and arrested them. This corruption in Uganda is stoppable.
Do not cover-up if you are a Government officer and report if you are a citizen. I had, indeed, sent the former Minister Magyezi to follow up the issues of corruption the People had reported to me. He did go to these places but, it seems, decisive action had not been taken. You can see the enthusiasm of the People in response to Barugahara and Nameere’s decisive actions.
We are back to the earlier NRM days when huge crowds would flock voluntarily to our Public meetings without being given water to drink, food, and hiring tents for the local elite while the masses stayed in the rain or the sun.
Salutations