Karamoja Iron sheets Saga is a cover-up, Media should dig deeper in the Shs25b Goats saga - Journalist Muasamali Arnold.

 

Office of the prime minister  (OPM) cant account for  Shs25b goat funds which was released a year ago.

• A total of Shs25b was spent to buy goats for Karamoja but most households each got fewer than 16 goats promised amid reports some of them, costing up to Shs800,000, arrived sick and began falling dead.

Whereas the iron-sheet diversion appears to be the archetypal boardroom graft that has chronically afflicted the Office of the Prime Minister, involving top technocrats, there is another procurement, which requires an inquiry — Shs25 billion tender in 2021 for supply of goats to vulnerable households.

On a visit to Kotido District in Karamoja Sub-region, this publication was told that 13,000 goats have already been distributed and another 5,000 are yet to be procured and given out to beneficiaries.

Sourced briefed on the matter identified the supplier of the goats, whose number and health have been contested, as relatives of powerful individuals and politicians at OPM.

Mr David Amoding, a community development officer in Kotido, said: “Some goats died of Peste des petits ruminants (PPR), some sold the goats because of hunger and some goats were stolen by cattle thieves, but the main challenge that we saw, most of the goats from Teso had PPR. Most of [the beneficiaries] lost those goats that came from Teso, there is a farmer here in my community, out of 11 goats, he lost 10 goats and remains with only one goat, which is a Galla [breed].”

It is also on record that after the contractors supplying goats, they could again go back to the communities and buy them cheaply from the beneficiaries.

The goats were bought at just 40,000/- Shilling from the the beneficiaries. Sources also revealed that the at one point they would Buy these goats from the beneficiaries and resupply them in another area.   

But one would ask who are those who got contracts to supply these goats? - The deal was given to 9 Private Companies which are said to be of big government officials and state house officials.

List of Companies Awarded Contract to supply goats:- 

1. Open Contractors 

2. Twemed General Suppliers Ltd

3. Bukanja Highland

4. Platinum Business Ug

5. Rutaborwa Enterprises 

6. Abemari Smc Ltd

7. Enrich Agro Vet technology Ltd

8. Luck and Lark Co. Ltd

9. M/S National Animal Crenet and  Data Bank.

Next Story : Who owns the Co.