Inspector General of Government (IGG), Raphael Baku

The Inspectorate of Government is investigating nine transactions that were carried out in preparation for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), Parliament has heard.

The Inspector General of Government (IGG), Raphael Baku, yesterday said the files were in relation to procurement of hotel services, motor vehicles and motorcycles, work on the northern bypass and the beautification of Kampala.

The other areas, he added, were being investigated by the Police.

Baku was responding to queries raised by members of the legal and parliamentary affairs committee, where he had appeared together with other senior officials to discuss the budget framework paper for the inspectorate.

Recently, President Yoweri Museveni directed that severe action be taken against civil servants and political leaders who flouted procurement rules and regulations during preparations for the meeting hosted in Kampala in 2007.

In a directive to the Prime Minister, Apolo Nsibambi, Museveni said taking action against the culprits “will deter corrupt tendencies among public servants and political leaders.”

Baku said the inspectorate had received sh891m from the Government for the investigations, which he hoped would be finalised by the end of this month.

Among the queries raised by the MPs after Baku’s submission was whether he had taken interest in the CHOGM report and what action he had taken against the officers implicated.

Wilfred Niwagaba (NRM) wanted to know whether the IGG was exploring the possibility of taking civil action on behalf of the public against the people implicated.

She also wanted to know if the political leaders involved were declared unfit to lead and the money squandered recovered from them.

Baku assured the committee that he was investigating the matter and warned that more arrests would be made. He said the culprits would also be dismissed from their jobs.

Baku explained that following the President’s directive, Nsibambi communicated to them and forwarded the Auditor General’s report.

He, however, said the only snag was that the CHOGM report was not part of the planned activities. “It took us a bit of time to get the money,” he said.

“We met with the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Police and shared out the areas we should investigate.”

Asked to name the people they were investigating, Baku said: “If we find something wrong, we will find out who is responsible.”
On Thursday, Parliament adopted the report of the public accounts committee on CHOGM

The Speaker, Edward Sekandi, however, said adopting the report did not mean that Parliament had exonerated or convicted the people implicated.

He said the Criminal Investigations Department and other arms of government would continue with the investigations.

The report implicated top government officials including the Vice-President, Prof. Gilbert Bukenya and several ministers.

By Joyce Namutebi, The New Vision

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