As Parliament’s Presidential Affairs Committee nears its end of investigating the mismanagement of relief items meant for vulnerable people in the north eastern sub-region of Karamoja, legislators are utilising the final days to interface with top government leaders implicated in the saga.
The committee on Wednesday met with the Vice President Jessica Alupo at her office in Kampala. Ms Alupo informed committee members that upon her return from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, nearly 7,000 kilometres away, slightly a month ago, she was shocked to learn that her name was among the beneficiaries of iron sheets.
The committee chairperson, Ms Jesca Ababiku (Adjumani MP), took liberty to inform Ms Alupo that previous records show that she was accorded 500 iron sheets from the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) for the Financial Year 2022/2023.
“Upon learning that my name was on the list, I rang the Prime Minister and asked whether the iron sheets that were distributed were either meant for the Karachunas (youth) or were the normal iron sheets that [the office] often distributed [to ministers to support initiatives in their home constituencies],” Ms Alupo said.
In part of Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja’s responses, she informed Ms Alupo that a written elaborate report clarifying the issues had been presented to the President, which [report] she has not personally seen.
Ms Alupo said the idea of receiving the iron sheets initially came from Ms Kitutu. The arrangements were coordinated between her personal assistant and another technical person, who was at the helm of distributing the iron sheets.