A fresh corruption scandal has emerged in Pakwach District after Local Government Minister Balaam Barugahara revealed that Shs900 million allocated to construct a one-kilometre low-cost road was almost entirely spent after just 10 metres had been completed.Barugahara made the revelation while appearing before Parliament’s Local Government Committee, saying the case exposed serious weaknesses in the supervision and accountability of government projects.“Government budgeted for 900 million to do one kilometre of low surface road. I found the engineer had done 10 metres, but he had used all the money.
He had only 12 million left,” Barugahara said.The minister questioned why district officials, including Chief Finance Officers, Chief Administrative Officers and Resident District Commissioners, failed to prevent the alleged misuse of funds.He called for stronger action against officials involved in corruption, warning that impunity would continue unless offenders are held accountable.Barugahara has been conducting inspection tours across several districts, alongside State Minister for Local Government Justine Nameere.
The inspections have already led to the interdiction of some local government officials over suspected misuse of public funds.However, Mukono Municipality MP Betty Nambooze criticised the approach, arguing that corruption should primarily be addressed through district accountability structures rather than central government interventions.President Yoweri Museveni has meanwhile praised Barugahara and Nameere for taking action against corruption at the grassroots.The Pakwach Shs900 million road case has renewed concerns over the management of public funds and raised questions about how government projects are monitored to ensure taxpayers get value for their money.
