Poor implementation of the second phase of the Northern Uganda Social Action Fund – NUSAF – is threatening to haunt the district officials who are now facing disciplinary action for negligence.
Amuru district has so far received only 19 million shillings as funds for one community project that it raised, whereas most districts have received hundreds of millions of shillings for several projects they have generated as part of the 100 million dollar NUSAF program. The program is intended to help communities in the war affected areas to generate income as they resettle in their homes after years of life in the internally displaced people’s camps.
In April, John Bosco Olum, the Amuru district NUSAF focal point person was suspended over failure to help the communities generate projects for funding despite receiving 89 million shillings for mobilization.
At the time, Robert Lim Lim, the NUSAF II executive director asked the Amuru district CAO to investigate and take disciplinary action on Olum. However, over a month later no corrective action appears to have been taken prompting the intervention of the ministry of local government.
In the latest move, the permanent secretary ministry of local government has directed the CAO of Amuru to urgently take disciplinary measures on the official accused of incompetence.
Patrick Mutabwire, who wrote to the CAO on behalf of the permanent secretary on May 2, warned that the chief administrative officer also risks punishment over negligence should he fail to take action within a month.
Mutabwire blamed the officers for failing to make use of billions of shillings allocated under the program to help improve the livelihood of the impoverished population.
Many households in the region lack the capacity to afford the basic needs due to low income levels.
