Uganda’s Local Government Minister has ordered the arrest of several Tororo district and municipal officials accused of corruption, in the latest phase of a nationwide crackdown targeting graft in local administration.
Minister Raphael Magyezi Balaam, who was on an anti-corruption tour of the district, directed security agencies to arrest at least six officials, among them the District Inspector of Schools, the Tororo Municipal Physical Planner, a Community Development Officer, a Procurement Officer, a town council official and the Tororo Municipal Engineer.
The officials are accused of a range of offences, including irregularities in the disbursement of Parish Development Model (PDM) funds, payroll fraud involving so-called “ghost workers” at local health centres and schools, and the misuse of funds earmarked for road and water projects. Investigators say some PDM committee members had been demanding bribes from beneficiaries before releasing funds meant to lift households out of poverty.
Speaking during the tour, the minister said the government would not tolerate officials undermining the president’s flagship wealth-creation programmes. “We shall not allow a few corrupt individuals to sabotage the President’s wealth creation programs,” he said, directing that extorted PDM funds be recovered within 15 days.
The minister also ordered an audit of road works in the district after inspectors reportedly found substandard construction that had been covered with fresh topsoil ahead of his visit, in an apparent bid to conceal poor workmanship from the visiting delegation.
The Tororo arrests form part of a broader anti-graft campaign the minister has carried out in local governments across the country in recent months, with previous sweeps in Kapchorwa, Mbale, Isingiro and Mitooma districts resulting in the interdiction of scores of local government employees.
Officials say the crackdown is aimed at restoring public confidence in the PDM, a flagship government initiative designed to move households from subsistence to a cash economy, which has faced persistent complaints of mismanagement since its rollout. Further arrests are expected as investigations continue, authorities say.