Following the whistleblower allegation regarding nepotism and corruption at the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance, the spokesperson for The State House Anti-corruption said that the unit has started an investigation into the raised allegations.
Available information regarding the event states that there had been allegations of nepotism, corruption, and mismanagement during the development of the Parish Base Management Information System, which is developed with the aim to support the Parish Development Model.
In her public statement shared with the media, the spokesperson of the Unit Ms. Mariam Natasha Odukaa said that officers and investigators from the unit had visited the office of the ministry which is located in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda, and confiscated electronic devices including mobile phones and computers from the office and also from some of the staff.
The investigators visited the office of the ministry in Kampala on May 4. Ms. Oduka also made it clear that the unit has not made any official arrest in the case and that the officers and investigators of the unit were currently analyzing the correctness of the allegations raised by the whistleblower.
According to the allegations made by the whistleblower, there had been serious issues associated with the development of the Parish-Based Management Information System(PBMIS).
The system was developed with the major aim to support the Parish Development Model(PDM), which is one of the flagship programs of the government. The whistleblower raises serious allegations like corruption, nepotism, and mismanagement during the development of the PBMIS.
Along with the said allegations, the whistleblower also raised serious other acquisitions like mismanagement of the funds related to the project, which was actually meant for innovation hubs, and also regarding the cost of advertising deal for the program with a local television station.
The news and updates regarding the ongoing investigation were also confirmed by the permanent secretary of the ministry, Ms. Amina Zawedde. She confirmed the investigation through her statement during an interview she had with a newspaper on Wednesday.
Zawedde also added that the mobile phones that were confiscated from her subordinates by the investigators had been retired and also stated that all the employees and organs of the ministry were corporating in the ongoing investigation.
Ms. Amina Zewadde also faced different allegations against her by the whistleblower and she made clarifications regarding those allegations too.
In the interview, she talked on the fact about the news regarding appointing her sister to a job at the ministry. She stated that the news was not true and that she does not have any relatives working at the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance.
Zawdde ended her statement by saying that she is someone who is against the idea of corruption and that the employees at the ministry are trying their best to avoid the practice of corruption and also to improve the efficiency of their operations.
The Area Of Investigation
The prime focus of the ongoing investigation is the Parish-Based Management Investigation System(PBMIS).
It is a system that is developed with an aim to capture all the data of the households that receive benefits from the Shs1.14 trillion PDM project.
The allegations raised by the whistleblower suggest that the technocrats have spent around Shs 12 billion which was actually meant for the development of the project.
According to the permanent secretary of the ministry, Ms. Zewdde even though the system is still under development, it is operating and the ministry has been using it.
Ms. Zewdde added that around 50% work of adding the details of each and every household that had benefited from the project has been completed using the system.
She also added that the reason behind collecting the details of each and every household that obtains the benefits is that it will provide the ministry with the details of all those who are eligible for the project. Zewdde expressed her confidence in the system and stated that it was working.
She even went on to invite people who were still skeptical about the working of the system to the ministry so that they could see the system physically.
She even went on to state that she will hold a press conference soon and will show the nation the working of the system, which will prove all the allegations raised against the ministry false.
In light of the recent allegations and statements against the system and its functionality, Mr Godfrey Kabyanga, who is the junior minister in Charge of National Guidance has also confirmed that the system functioned effectively earlier this month.
In a statement given to the media by Kabyanga during the launch of the Pearl of Africa Civic Engagement Academic Project in February, he stated that the system was functioning effectively and that around 48% of data had been collected from different households.
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The ministry is currently developing different other technologies that could help the ministry to digitalize most of its operations.
Along with the convenience and effectiveness of these digital methods, they are also expected to reduce corruption which is said to be a serious issue with the ministry. Ms. Zewdde has confirmed the news regarding the development of new technologies for the ministry.
Among the allegations made by the whistleblower, the one regarding the advertising contract was also defended by the permanent secretary of the ministry.
The allegations suggest that the contract has defied the presidential directive which says that all government advertising contacts should be directed to the national broadcaster UBC.
In her explanation for the allegation, Zewdde stated that the contract between the TV station and the ministry took place before the issue of the presidential directive. She also added that the TV station had worked in partnership with UBC and had run different government programs together.
The allegations regarding nepotism in recruitment and promotions along with the mismanagement of NIISP were also tackled by Zewdde.
She stated that they have availed each and every piece of information to the people who were carrying out the investigations and also that the unit was ready to issue more information if needed.
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