ADJUMANI, UGANDA: The battle line has been drawn between the Adjumani district council and the 2nd deputy Prime Minister also the MP Adjumani West, Gen. Moses Ali in what the district speaker Oloya Jackson described as meddling in the affairs of the district council.
During the 5th ordinary council meeting held on March 30, 2022, the district vice-chairman Kaijuka Richard informed the council that Gen.Moses Ali has dragged his feet in the council resolution calling for special audit into the operations of Amelo Technical Institute.
Mr. Oloya, the district speaker however ruled that since the council is supreme CAO should go ahead and conduct the special audit pending further administrative decisions.
The Adjumani district council in its sitting on March 11, 2022, under minute 31/OCM/11/03/2022, passed a resolution directing CAO Oryono Grandfield and the office of the district chairman to ensure a special audit is conducted on the financial transactions of Amelo technical institute within two weeks.
When the council resolution was brought to the attention of Gen.Moses Ali, he reacted by writing to the Minister of Local Government Hon. Magyezi Raphael describing the resolution of the district council as unwarranted interference into the affairs of Amelo Technical Institute.
“My attention has been drawn to a letter referenced CR/22/01/2022, wherein the CAO Adjumani directed the head of internal audit Adjumani district local government to conduct a special audit into the operations of Amelo Technical Institute”. The letter dated March 23, 2022, reads in Part.
Quoting education ACT 2008, Gen.Moses Ali contends that, Amelo is one of the Institutions established in accordance with the provision of the Business Technical Vocational Education Training, as such it is directly supervised by the Ministry of Education and sports but not district local governments.
Earlier on, the Adjumani district chairman Anyama Ben in a press briefing said the letter of Gen.Moses Ali be treated with all the contempt it deserves and be disregarded as a malicious attempt to further destabilize the already crumbling Amelo Technical Institute.
In a protest letter referenced COU/ADJ/205, dated March 28, which was addressed to the minister of local government hon. Magezi Raphael, the Adjumani district chairman Anyama Ben, states that Amelo Institute which was established in 2015 is facing persistent maladministration which is compromising and undermining its strategic objectives of the Institute.
Amelo Technical Institute was established in 2015, under the Business Technical Vocational Education Training [BTVET] strategic plan of skilling Uganda but since then the Institute has been limping and the current number of students has been condensed to 14.
Mr. Anyama Ben in his letter raised several matters including; Financial malpractice, gross administrative incongruities and mass exodus of human resources among others.
“Section 13(b)of the local government ACT, mandates the district chairman to monitor the general administration of the district while section 13(e) further mandates the district chairperson on behalf of the council to oversee the performance of persons employed by the government to provide services in the district and monitor the provision of services”.
He said the situation in Amelo technical institute has been invigorated by some of the god fathers of the principal Mr. Kamba Charles including Gen.Moses Ali as evidenced by his letter referenced 2DPM/03/22 dated March 23,2022, to the minister of local government, hon Magezi Raphael.
“The purpose of this letter is therefore to draw your attention to the matter and cause forensic audit of the institution in line with the issues raised, cause for the intervention of investigating arms of government and order for the stepping aside of the principal Mr. Kamba Charles paving way for investigations without undue interference.”
It is on record that Gen.Moses Ali was the Board Chairman of Amelo Technical Institute and his crony, former district chairman Leku James was the treasurer but in the middle of his term Gen.Moses Ali resigned because he realized as a deputy Prime Minister he is supposed to supervise the Board.
And it is during their term in office when serious anomalies occurred which among others includes; loss of assets like solar panels, batteries, a portable generator, a pick-up, beds, fresien cows and exodus of teaching and non-teaching staff.
Several NGOs withdrew their funding for the institute because of failure to accounts for funds, these NGOs includes; Norwegian Refugee Council[NRC]Jesuit Refugee Council[JRS] and FAWE that deals with girl child education.
All these anomalies took place when Gen.Moses Ali and his political consociate, previous district chairman Leku James were contentedly observing unabated.
In 2017, when the first lady, refused to commission Amelo Technical Institute after unearthing several irregularities in the contract document and actual construction work on the ground she warned of tough measures against those sabotaging the project.
The strongly articulated pronouncement of the first Lady Janet Museveni however did not change the situation any better The principal Kamba Charles continued to run the institute as family business with almost no restraint from the district authority and the Ministry of education and sports.
Three years later, the ministry of education and sports cancelled the contract of Egypt based Egyero construction company replacing it with Comuplant construction company, but the situation is not restored as the contractor has abandoned the site without communicating to the district.
Amelo technical Institute now lie in ruins, the buildings of the mega project appear dilapidated, the female dormitory and dining hall structures have been skipped when they appear in the original structural plan according to Kenyi Welbourne, chairman Pakele Sub county.
Political commentators in Adjumani believe what is happening among leaders is the backlash of politics of obscurantism, nihilism and drawing line-ups for self-ravenousness that overshadowed 2021, parliamentary and local council elections.
“The ill-fated political strategies that planted seeds of discord among the populace should be addressed with all the urgency it deserves because Adjumani district is in a state of need and leaders must do the first things first.’’ According to the commentators.
The height of the political dilemma among leaders in Adjumani was experienced on October 21,2022, when, Gen.Moses Ali was invited to officiate at the UNHCR Mungula farm bumper harvest celebration in Itirikwa sub county that was massively boycotted by district leaders.
When Gen.Moses Ali took to the podium, he appeared flagger basted and cautioned district leaders against taking the political differences’ too far because at anyone point individual leaders may find it difficult bypassing the office of the prime minister in Kampala.
The former district chairman Anyanzo John who is a lawyer by profession said the council resolution over Amelo technical institute is lawful and the chairman has the mandate as provided in sections 13[b], [b].
He further notes that Gen.Moses Ali should have guided the district chairman if there were gaps in the council resolution, because any antagonism amid Gen.Moses Ali and the district council will have adverse consequences on the development progress of the district.
The political situation in Adjumani is on the verge of degenerating into a fully blown battle following a very divisive political campaign during the 2021 elections which separated the populace into two hostile camps.
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