Coordinators warned against corruption in govt programs

The Rushenyi County Member of Parliament, Naome Kabasharira has condemned the vice of mishandling government projects where some locals who are beneficiaries and the coordinators are partly involved in corruption related issues.

According to MP Kabasharira, through community / parish consultations meetings in Rushenyi County, it was found out that some people, especially those who offer Government programs like coordinators have started a habit of charging people before they benefit from any of the projects brought by the Government.

It has been discovered that the parish coordinators connive with some locals in that particular area and start soliciting money from the beneficiaries of a certain project or program.

On Monday, 17th June, 2024 during MP Kabasharira’s parish consultation meeting at the offices of Kagongi parish, Rushenyi County in Ntungamo District, locals raised various issues reporting to the member of parliament that projects that were given to the Kagongi model village is mishandled by some coordinators and some individuals from that community.

During the meeting, it was reported that some people give bribes to the program’s coordinators so that they can get multiple benefits which include animals like cows, goats, pigs and beehives.

Kagongi Parish is among the nine model villages in Western Uganda that President Museveni selected to be models to the rest of other areas under the Poverty Alleviation program.

In the last two years, Kagongi has received about 40 Heifers, 268 piglets and 288 goats plus beehives under the same program. All the animals were distributed to the beneficiaries.

During the recent consultation meeting at Kagongi Parish, some farmers reported that they have lost some of their animals which were given to them; others reported that they are progressively benefiting from the animals they received.

This program coming to Kagongi was initiated by the area Member of Parliament, Naome Kabasharira using her lobbying skills through the office of the head of the Poverty alleviation Program in order to fight poverty increase in the area.

Despite the progress of this project/ program, some locals asked for some change in the way these animals are distributed or given to the beneficiaries. That there is unfair selection of the beneficiaries. They also mentioned that those who select the persons to benefit, they ask some money from the people.

This prompted MP Kabasharira to direct that there should be meetings between LC leaders, locals and the coordinators before animals are given to the rest of beneficiaries. She also directed that there should be voting through handpicking from the box among the beneficiaries as one way of avoiding confusion and bribes in these projects.

Kabasharira warned against the people who are trying to mess up these government programs through corruption related issues. She appealed to the coordinators to stop asking bribes from people when they are giving the animals.

“Through consultation meetings that I have been having with my electorate, they have been very useful to me because I found out that some people who offer government programs, they charge the beneficiaries, like even PDM, that you first pay some bribe before you get the money that you are supposed to get. Even in the village model program, before someone is given either a cow or goat they first pay some bribe. This shows that corruption has gone far deep and even reached into our local people at the grassroot, this is something that i have learnt but i think it will be sorted with time especially when we continue to talk about it,” said MP Kabasharira

She has assured the rest of other areas that they will also benefit from this program when it is managed efficiently

MP Kabasharira has been in the constituency for the last two weeks as she was consulting people about their views. She has moved to different parishes from different sub-counties in Rushenyi county where she has met different categories of people who raised various views that she will package and take them back to parliament for consideration.