By Leonard Kamugisha Akida,
KAMPALA
The minister of ICT and national guidance, Chris Baryomunsi has asked President Yoweri Museveni to extend the purge beyond sacking top Kampala Capital City Authority officials and crackdown on incompetent public servants in different government ministries, departments and agencies.
On Tuesday, president Museveni sacked three officials of KCCA including Executive Director Dorothy Kisaka, Deputy Executive Director Eng. David Luyimbazi, and Director of Public Health Dr. Daniel Okello over their alleged ole in the recent Kitezi landfill disaster which claimed the lives of over 30 people and leaving many displaced.
The President actions were prompted by the findings of the an investigation report by the Inspector General of Government (IGG) which cited criminal negligence in managing the Kiteezi Landfill. The IGG report further revealed severe oversight on the part of the officials, implicating them in the disastrous incident.
Addressing journalists at the Uganda Media Centre on Wednesday (September 25), Minister Baryomunsi commended the president for taking this bold action against the trio who he said were sleeping on the job.
“Definitely, nobody expected the president to provide a red carpet to KCCA officials when people have died of preventable deaths which should have been prevented if the team at KCCA was on the job,” said Baryomunsi.
Pointing out acts of laziness, lack of seriousness and impunity in many public offices, Baryomunsi appealed to the president to consider acting up on all MDAs to ensure transparency and accountability in doing doing government works.
“The president should not only stop at KCCA, he should be able to examine how different departments of government work and where people are found lacking actions should be taken so that we continue to taking our jobs and responsibilities extremely serious,” said Baryomunsi.
According to the minister, the sacking of Kisaka and two top officials at KCCA is a wakeup call to all public servants to serve their people diligently and efficiently.
Additionally, Baryomunsi revealed that the president was frustrated by the poor performance of leaders at KCCA following failed feedback on the reports about different investors who requested to turn Uganda’s solid waste into renewable energy. He said, at a recent cabinet meeting, the minister of Kampala Hajjat Minsa Kabanda together with the minister of disaster and preparedness were ordered to present a comprehensive report updating the cabinet on Kiteezi landfill and the resettlement plans for the displaced individuals.
The President, exercising his authority under Article 172(1)(a) of the 1995 Constitution, terminated the appointments of Kusaka, Eng. Luyimbazi and Daniel Okello, calling for further investigation by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) to explore criminal negligence associated with the event.
However, the Kampala Lord Mayor Hajji Ssalongo Erias Lukwago says sacking the trio is insufficient. He called for their immediate arrest and prosecution for gross mismanagement and abuse of office.
“They must be held accountable for their actions, which directly led to the loss of innocent lives. With a budget of over 4 billion shillings meant for garbage management at their disposal, they failed to prevent this tragedy. They should face the full force of the law,” Lukwago insisted.
President Museveni has directed the minister of Kampala to appoint individuals in acting capacities to ensure the continued smooth operation of KCCA until permanent replacements are found.
The minister was further asked to with guidance of the ministry of Public Service Commission to advertise the vacant positions of Executive Director, Deputy Executive Director, and Director of Public Health at KCCA within three months.
