Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja has ordered investigations into allegations that goats procured at a cost of Shs25b for distribution to vulnerable households in Karamoja were diverted.
She has also directed a similar internal investigations into the iron sheets scandal involving several government officials.
According to Ms Joyce Babirye, the principal communications officer at the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), Ms Nabbanja ordered the two matters to be investigated concurrently.
“We had planning meetings with the people or Karamoja and Prime Minister herself ordered that both the iron sheets and goats saga be investigated together and that is what is happening right now. She asked that both reports be handled for onward action when completed,” Ms Babirye said on Sunday.
This comes after MPs from Karamoja petitioned Parliament, accusing the minister in charge of the region of misusing Shs25b meant for the procurement of goats to be distributed across the region, as well as picking 500 bags of maize seeds from Namalu Prison Stores, under the Feed Karamoja Project out of 200 bags were allegedly found in her house.
In 2021, Parliament passed Shs39 billion as a supplementary vote to purchase relief items meant for the Karamoja sub-region to help the most vulnerable within the poverty-stricken communities, including widows, the elderly, and youth abdicating rustling. Parish chiefs selected these groups and each prospective beneficiary was to receive 16 goats.
However, MPs said each beneficiary was to get 16 goats, but each was instead handed one, with a promise the remaining 15 would be supplied later.
Mr John Paul Kodet, the chairperson of Napak District, said his district was supposed to receive 15,000 goats, but only received 13,000 were supplied and 10,000 of them have died.
“The [goats supplied] were all substandard; some were procured at a cost of Shs700,000, while the East African goats were procured at Shs400,000. These goats could be bought each at a maximum of Shs100,000. The contractors inflated the costs,” said Mr Kodet.
Ms Christine Akot, the vice chairperson of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party for Moroto District, said the Shs39 billion disbursed in supplementary budget for relief to Karamoja ended up wasted.
“Shs22 billion was set aside for buying galla goats which have not arrived to date and even those that arrived were sick. Some of them were emaciated and some even died and right now if you went to Karamoja and did an audit, you would get nothing. They are not there but all the money has been spent,” she said.
Karenga District chairman Felix Mark Lochaale said they only received 1,300 “malnourished” goats.
“Almost all of them died … they brought the goats without veterinary services [yet] the goats were already sick,” he said.
Mr Margaret Aleper Achilla, the Kotido District Woman MP, said they were called for a stakeholders’ meeting after Karamoja ministry secured supplementary budget, but the timing for purchase was wrong due to onset of dry season and raging insecurity at the time.
“However to our surprise, these goats were taken to our districts by the contractors we don’t know … the goats were so small, actually they were kids,” she said: “When I recently did my mobilisation tour with my women, I was told that each beneficiary was given only one goat and they were told the 15 would be delivered later, which up to now they have not received.”