LUWEERO – Police on Friday blocked the Nakaseke South MP, Paulson Luttamaguzi Ssemakula from accessing Kapeeka Health Centre III to specifically execute a donation expedition.
Luttamaguzi said that the gesture to donate had resulted from the medics’ complaints about the dire state of the facility, which lack of proper mattresses and beds. He said that he had turned up the facility to fulfil his pledge of assisting in his capacity as the area representative and concerned citizen.
Luttamaguzi, who had carried an assortment of items – including an unspecified number of mattresses and beds, found it hard to by-pass the police barrier, specifically erected to bar him from accessing the Health Centre III.
The legislator narrated that the O/C – Kapeeka Police Station notified him that he was executing orders ‘above’ to deny him access to the facility.
According to Luttamaguzi, the O/C was quick in self-employing himself as a personal assistant, requesting him to channel the donation through the district leadership.
The Savannah Regional (Ag) Police Spokesperson, Patrick Lule claimed that the legislator had not been denied access to the facility but was only advised him to follow, what he termed as ‘the rightful procedure’ of channelling his donation through the district leadership, which he refused.
Meanwhile, Lwengo district lost an estimated Ugx100m last year through deceitful expenditures by heads of department, a District Public Accounts Committee – DPAC report has indicated.
The report pins heads of departments for conniving to misappropriate public funds as well as falsifying accountability for money meant for various projects under their dockets.
For instance, in the Education department, Ugx10.4 m that was meant for Nakyenyi Secondary School under the Universal Secondary Education – USE program disappeared without a trace.
The District Planning Department misappropriated Ugx43m under the Discretionary Development Equalization Grant-DDEG program, in addition to Ugx4.7m, which money was meant to repair administration offices at Kyetume.
“We recommend that the responsible heads of departments be held accountable for these irregularities and accordingly be reprimanded, and compelled to return the misused funds,” reads, the report, which is shared with the line ministry, according Jorum Mugume – the District Public Committee Chairperson.
Ibrahim Kitatta, the Lwengo district Chairperson noted that the report had assisted in bringing to light the abuse of office in the district and would form a basis for taking appropriate action against the culprits.
Additional reporting by URN
