Watch Video: Speaker Among Returns 500 Iron Sheets Meant For Karamoja Sub-Region
Speaker of Parliament Anita Among
A team from the Office of the Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among have delivered a consignment of iron sheets which were received at the stores of the Office of Prime Minister at Namanve. The iron sheets are for the replacement of 500 pieces that had been handed over to Among from what was procured for vulnerable people in the Karamoja sub-region and which matter has raised a lot of controversies.
Speaker Among last month revealed that she would return 500 iron sheets she received from the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) which were meant for the disarmament programme in the Karamoja sub-region and further maintained her earlier stance that she did not request the iron sheets, and urged MPs not to consider recipients of the iron sheets as thieves.
“I have always said I got a call that iron sheets have been brought; after further analysis and considering that iron sheets were meant for Karamoja and not Bukedea, I have taken a personal decision as a leader to buy 500 iron sheets and give them back. I have sent my personal assistant to give back the iron sheets,” Among said.
Among said she took the decision to protect the image of Parliament which would otherwise be looked at as a grabber’.
“I do not want to be a shame to Parliament, I am doing this for the House. All people who were mentioned in the iron sheets saga were not asked; my action is because I do not want the name of Parliament to be tainted. I could have equally said they were given to my vulnerable people in Bukedea,” Among added.
The development comes after President Museveni threatened that ministers implicated in the scandal risked being kicked out of his cabinet
“.. those who took the mabaati for personal use, its not just a political mistake, it is theft. Those involved must both bring back the mabaati or equivalent value in money but also be handled by police under the criminal laws of the country,” Museveni said recently.
“I will also take political action once the police have concluded their investigations,” he added in a brief communication to the Prime Minister, Robinah Nabbanja on April, 3 which was also copied to the Vice President, ministers, Permanent Secretaries and Members of Parliament.
According to Museveni, the iron sheets were meant for the Karachuna as part of government efforts to fight insecurity in the Karamoja sub-region and therefore those involved in stealing them were involved in subversive activities.
“Those ministers are therefore undermining security in exchange for cheap popularity. Under the NRA code, cheap popularity is characterized as subversive. The ministers that were, therefore, consciously involved in this must take personal responsibility, pay back the value of the mabaati they diverted and I will decide on the political action to punish this mistake,” Museveni said.
The president however says those who were “unconsciously” involved should return the mabaati if they are still available.
Other top government officials implicated in the scandal include Vice President, Jessica Alupo, Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja, and Finance Minister, Matia Kasaija among others.
However, many of those implicated have since washed their hands clean of any wrongdoing saying they never initiated the deal but were only at the receiving end.
