Leaders in Panyimur Town Council during the visit by Local government minister Balam Barugahara.

NILE POST

Leaders in Panyimur Town Council have called for greater transparency and accountability in government projects, following complaints over poor workmanship, limited disclosure and alleged misuse of public funds.

Leaders in Panyimur Town Council, Pakwach District, have urged civil servants to put public interest ahead of personal gain and work closely with political leaders and communities to improve service delivery.

The call came on Thursday following the arrest of the Panyimur town clerk and two engineers on the orders of Minister of State for Local Government Balaam Barugahara after his visit to Panyimur Town Council on Wednesday.

The arrests followed complaints from residents and local leaders about alleged poor implementation of government projects, including roads and a health facility, despite funds being released for the works.

Leaders cited the poor state of roads, alleged shoddy work at Panyimur Health Centre III, failure to provide architectural designs for projects and what they described as a lack of cooperation between technical officials, political leaders and the community.

Rwoth Stanley Ombidi, the Paramount Chief of Ker Kwonga Chiefdom, said the concerns included alleged mismanagement of funds, poor workmanship and failure to involve community leaders in projects intended to benefit residents.

He said attempts by community leaders to monitor government projects had often been frustrated by technical officials who preferred to work without involving political and community leaders.

“When work commenced at Panyimur Health Centre III, we demanded a copy of the architectural design but the contractor and the district engineer both declined,” Ombidi said.

He said about Shs2.9 billion was allocated to the health centre project, but the quality of work did not match the investment.

Ombidi said some of the reported defects were already posing risks to patients, particularly expectant mothers.

“When you enter the maternity ward, the ceiling board is already collapsing and the money meant for perimeter fence was diverted to construct a kitchen which also developed cracks,” he said.

He called on political and technical leaders to work with communities to ensure government projects are properly implemented and deliver value to residents rather than serving individual interests.

Pennuel Kerchan, the Panyimur Town Council LC III chairperson, said he had also faced difficulties obtaining information from technical staff about government projects being implemented in the area.

He cited a road project for which about Shs900 million was reportedly released, saying technical officials kept him out of the implementation process.

“We were given about Shs900 million for road construction but our technical staff kept me out of its implementation progress whereas the same projects were ongoing in Pakwach and Parombo,” Kerchan said.

He accused some technical officials of operating in what he described as cliques and deliberately keeping political and community leaders away from information about government projects.

Kerchan said he was also given conflicting information about the amount of money available for the road works.

“When I asked the engineer how much he was given, he lied to me that he had only been given Shs10 million to construct more than a kilometre of road. He told me about Shs167 million was remaining at the ministry,” he said.

Kerchan said limited involvement of community and political leaders had contributed to poor implementation of some projects.

He urged technocrats to work with communities and political leaders to strengthen accountability and ensure government resources benefit the intended population.

The concerns came amid the arrest of Simon Adriko, the Panyimur town clerk; Omeri Bonny, the town engineer; and Godfred Avola, the district engineer for Pakwach District Local Government.

Residents and leaders said greater transparency and accountability could have helped address concerns surrounding the implementation of government projects before the arrests.

One of the projects under scrutiny is the Muganga Road, where about Shs900 million was reportedly released for construction of a one-kilometre stretch from the market lane.

Leaders and residents allege that the road works were less than five percent complete despite the reported release of funds.

At Panyimur Health Centre III, another project reportedly valued at Shs2.9 billion has also come under scrutiny.

The planned works included a modern outpatient department, a waiting area, kitchen, incinerator and solar power system.

However, leaders and residents said the facility continues to experience power outages, while the newly constructed kitchen has developed cracks and the health centre lacks a reliable water supply.

They also raised concerns over a failing ceiling board in the maternity ward, which they said could endanger expectant mothers.

The district engineer has been accused by local leaders of failing to adequately supervise the project and ensure that the works met the required standards.

The allegations have not been independently verified, and the officials implicated in the complaints have not been given an opportunity to respond to the specific claims in the information provided.

Written by newsroom-radiopacis