TORORO
Tororo District has remitted back Shs5.1 billion to the national treasury after failing to utilize the funds in the just concluded F/Y 2019/ 2020.
The money was meant to recruit new staff members and construct Kamuli health centre III in the newly created Akadoit Sub County.
The Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Tororo district, Dustan Balaba revealed this yesterday 1st of July, 2020 while updating the district on its state of affairs.
Balaba said that out of the Shs5.1 billion, 4.8 billion was meant for payment of salaries and 367 million shillings for the construction of Kamuli health centre III.
The money could however not be spent because the district has failed to constitute a District Service Commission and could therefore not recruit the 155 staff.
Currently the District Service Commission has only two members who do not make up quorum and this has rendered the commission non-operational and cannot recruit.
The attempts to constitute a fully functional service commission by the district council failed because the district has no executive to propose names of those to fill the vacant positions.
The District LCV Executive’s quorum failed after two district secretaries of health and education resigned demanding the LCV elections in the district in 2017 after the demise of Tororo district substantive chairperson, Apollo Jaramogi.
The Secretaries are Samuel Odongo and Jacob Opio respectively.
The district at one point tried to hire the services of Butaleja district service commission who even shortlisted the names but the whole process was frustrated by unbecoming political environment in the district.
“The district after failing to recruit over 155 staffs has taken a tough but unavoidable decision of taking back Shs5.1 billion to the national treasury because we couldn’t spend it.” Balaba said.
Last year, Tororo district returned funds amounting to Shs3.7 billion to the national treasury.
Upon hearing this news, the Rubongi Sub County councilor, Simon Opio said that the act of returning money every year to the national treasury is a disgrace to the district leaders.
“Let’s put our differences aside and find ways of how we can push our district and our first priority should be to operationalize the district service commission so that human resource challenges do not hit the district in future,” said Opio.
Commenting on the return of the money, Pius Omondi, a resident of Nangonera town council told eastnews that the selfishness of Tororo politicians is killing the district.
