How does a Minister get appointed, travel across districts, uncover alleged abuse of public funds, direct arrests, and recommend interdictions, while the Permanent Secretary of
@MoLGUganda who supervises all Chief Administrative Officers (CAOs), remains untouched? He has occupied that office for almost a decade. What exactly has he been doing during all that time? All we see is his letters interdicting officers who have been working under him for 10 years.
If the levels of mismanagement and alleged corruption now being exposed by Hon.
@BalaamBarugahar have existed for years, how did they escape the attention of the official charged with overseeing local government administration? Was he unaware, negligent, or simply unwilling to act? Or a beneficiary of the corruption.
If public funds were being misused across districts under his watch, then accountability cannot stop at junior officers and political appointees. The chain of responsibility leads upwards. It is therefore legitimate to ask whether those entrusted with oversight also benefited, directly or indirectly, from the very systems now under investigation.
How does the Permanent Secretary survive a purge aimed at cleaning up the sector when he sits at the apex of the administrative structure? I have long maintained the view that nobody in government should be presumed innocent merely because of their position. That principle applies to everyone, including me.
If Hon. Balaam's anti-corruption efforts are to produce meaningful results, then the Permanent Secretary must also be subjected to a thorough and independent investigation. Genuine accountability requires scrutiny of those who approve expenditure, authorise payments, supervise technical officers, and preside over the systems within which corruption occurs.
The investigation should not only establish whether there was any wrongdoing, but also whether those occupying such powerful offices possess the competence, integrity, and suitability required to serve as Permanent Secretaries. After all, these are the officials who authorise much of the government expenditure that flows through ministries and local governments.
If billions, and indeed trillions, of shillings are reportedly lost to corruption and waste each year, then any serious anti-corruption campaign must begin by examining the offices where financial approvals originate. Anything less, we are treating symptoms while leaving the source of the disease untouched.