The Minister of State for Planning, Amos Lugoloobi
The Minister of State for Planning, Amos Lugoloobi, the Minister of State for Defence, Jacob Oboth and Finance Minister, Matia Kasaija have revealed new secrets on the ‘diverted’ Karamoja iron sheets.
Appearing before parliamentary committee on presidential affairs that is investigating how iron sheets that were meant to benefit the people of Karamoja were diverted to other parts of the country, Lugoloobi noted that the iron sheets he had used to roof his goat shed were recovered by the anti-corruption unit and are no longer on goats shed.
Lugoloobi said that when he was still an MP in the 10th parliament, he had a need for both relief and non relief items. He said on a number of times he wrote to the office of the prime minister to be assisted but his requests were never responded to.
He says that in July last year and in February this year, he received in total 700 iron sheets.
He says that out of the 700 iron sheets he received , 84 were donated to a school, 300 to a church and 316 were used to roof a goats shed for his project to help alleviate poverty in his constituency.
Lugoloobi also informed MPs that he never knew that the iron sheets were meant to benefit the people of Karamoja and only got to learn about this when the State House anti-corruption unit informed him that he had items meant for Karamoja on his property.
He says that he was willing to buy back the iron sheets after learning they belonged to the people of Karamoja, but the investigators from the anti-corruption unit came and took them away and he chose to buy his own.
On the other hand, the Minister of State for Defence, Jacob Oboth informed MPs that he received 300 iron sheets and he received them after he got a call to pick them.
He says that even though he regrets the incident, he is incapacitated to go beyond regret because the iron sheets were given to the vulnerable.
When asked whether he’s willing to return the iron sheets, Oboth said that if compelled to return them he will sue the person who gave him the iron sheets for spoiling his name.
On his side, the Minister of Finance, Matia Kasaija informed MPs that he regrets getting the iron sheets but says that the 300 iron sheets he received are still with him and he is still waiting for written guidance from the office of the prime minister.
The state minister of Bunyoro affairs Janepher Namuyangu says that she is not willing to return the iron sheets as they were not in her plans.
The committee also interacted with state minister for disaster- Esther Ayankun, state minister agriculture- Fred Bwino Kyakulaga, and Youth MP-Central region, Agnes Kirabo.
