KOLE, UGANDA: District authorities in Kole are hunting for an LC1 Chairperson who allegedly disappeared after misusing water user fee leaving residents in despair.
Moses Etede, the Chairperson of Adwil Village in Abur Parish, Ayer Sub County is being accused of prudently mismanaging a total of UGX 185000/=.
Etede is said to have collected Shs 9000 from each household to buy a borehole cylinder part which he never bought.
Residents allege that upon collecting the money, the Chairman [Etede] sneakily brought a local mechanic to remove one of the borehole pump head and handle to be fixed in the other borehole within the village.
Micheal Opio, one of the resident in the area said after they mounted pressure on the suspect [Etede], He fled the village in fear of being arrested because he had not accounted for the money that the household contributed towards rehabilitating their borehole.
“People are overcrowding the one water source in the village for clean drinking and it has become so difficult for our women to manage time since there are delays at water point,” Opio told DailyExpress.
He added; “We collected the hard earned money to maintain the water source and again our chairman is frustrating us, making us resort to smelly and unsafe water whenever people are crowded at the borehole. The law should take its course on him.”
Ms. Mary Ekul, an elderly woman in Adwil Village says the higher authority should prevail over the matter so that LC Etede can return their hard-earned money.
She noted that although drinking water is a basic human right, many people do not have access to safe and adequate drinking water because of a blunder made by their LC1 Chairman.
‘’We can’t wait to see people suffering from waterborne disease as a result of sharing water with animals, Etede must bring back the money he collected,’’Ms. Ekul said.
The Ayer sub County LC3 Chairperson, Bosco Okori applauded the community members of Adwil Village for waking up and raising such impunity, adding that the suspect [LC Etede] will be subjected to disciplinary action if found to have swindled the said money.
Efforts to reach the village Chairman Etede were futile as attempts to trace him through known phone numbers were futile.
Moses Etede is known for condoning unbecoming behaviors in his area. Recently he was made to surrender his new bicycle at Teboke Police Outpost as a fine after he allegedly participated in sealing a defilement case.
Adequate and safe water is important for human health and well-being, economic production, and sustainable development. Failure to ensure the safety of drinking water may expose the community to the risk of outbreaks of waterborne and infectious diseases.
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