Rubanda Parish Chief Returns Money he illegally acquired from PDM beneficiaries.

Rubanda: The parish chief of Kagunga Parish in Bufundi sub-county, Rubanda West constituency Bazaragye Theodore, , has returned the 3.5 million shillings he had collected from Parish Development Model beneficiaries after intervention by Eric Ssewandigi, the Rubanda acting Resident District Commissioner (RDC).

According RDC Ssewandigi, Bazaragye had collected Shs 600,000 from Katwiiga Edward, Shs 300,000 from Akampurira Prossy, Shs 1 million from Turyamwijuka, and Shs 100,000 from Ndomugyenyi, among others.

Speaking to our reporter on Wednesday July 3, 2024 after the recovery exercise, Ssewandingi said he immediately arrested the suspect after receiving public complaints.

 He added that the next course of action is to verify the PDM names of those who have already benefited in the same parish and notified the CAO to take action against the accused.

Ssewandigi vowed to crack down on corruption in all remaining sub-counties, citing the recent action taken in Hamuhambo Town Council in Rubanda East, where three officials – Ali Kirarira, Bridget Musimenta, and Asiimwe Bright – were arrested over corruption and misappropriation of government funds.

This came after whistleblowers from Kibuzigye-Hamuhambo PDM Sacco Limited raised concerns over the deletion of names from the PDM beneficiary list and the addition of new names not from their parish or Sacco. 

The authorities recovered 11 million shillings and ensured it was given to the rightful beneficiaries.

Ssewandigi urged the public to report cases of corruption and embezzlement to his office. 

Bufundi sub-county GISO, Kabawoze Lauben, raised concern over beneficiaries who abandoned their projects after receiving PDM funds, making monitoring difficult. 

He also noted that some village chairpersons are unaware of the beneficiaries, exacerbating the situation.”