District leaders want govt compensation strategy overhauled

This was in reference to money given to cooperative societies as compensation for property lost in the civil wars.

The leaders assert that it was unwise to bypass local authorities in the entire compensation process, justifying the conflicts, corruption, and manipulation witnessed in the management of compensation funds.

"This is like a postmortem of money released by the government. What we are about to see from this investigation is that it seems few people have benefited from money offered to Lango Cooperative Union, yet it could have changed many lives," said Morris Okello, Speaker, Lira District Council.

Okello was interacting with the Parliamentary Committee on Tourism, Trade, and Industry in Lira district during the committee’s ongoing inquiry on cooperatives.

He said the district commercial office, by its mandate, could have ‘cured’ the alleged misuse of funds by the union and the eventual fights between members if the district was engaged.

"Based on what is on the ground, I pray that your recommendations empower local leaders; we have the district commercial officers, but the mandate could also be given to the chief administrative officers and the district chairpersons to be supervising some of these activities," he said.

In Masindi, the district leadership was concerned with the way Bunyoro Cooperative Union was cheated by third parties, who took more than half of their compensation money, saying the district could have reigned in if it had been involved in the process.

"The error that the union committed is negligence due to failure to consult; the district could have guided. Include district leaders in your recommendations to keep an eye on government funding to avoid similar occurrences in the future," said Emmanuel Awio, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer, Masindi district.

Due to a lack of supervision, the Trade Committee observed poor management of funds in a number of cooperatives, with some lacking critical staff such as accountants, while others were headed by semi-illiterate leaders.

In Masindi, the committee was dismayed to learn that Bunyoro Cooperative Union leaders could hardly explain the basic operations of the union, including the expenditure of sh 2.5 billion remitted to their bank account for compensation.

"Chairman and Treasurer, we have asked you simple questions, and you cannot answer. You could not tell us how much was remitted to your bank account; you cannot explain how the union reached at the lawyer’s fees; nor could you locate the memorandum of understanding signed with the lawyer," said Elijah Mushemeza MP Sheema County South.

The committee chairperson, Mwine Mpaka, warned that failure by the union leadership to file complaints against the lawyer, who is said to have taken more than the agreed 50 percent, was criminal.

"The fact that you never took the lawyer to the police and you never made any official complaint means you facilitated the entire process and are guilty of conspiracy to commit fraud," Mwine Mpaka said.