KAMPALA- The job of the Inspector General of Government, Irene Mulyagonja is on the swing after President Museveni Wednesday afternoon questioned her performance and in effect established a unit in State House to monitor government agencies, departments and agencies.
The new anti-corruption unit, according to Mr Museveni, will undertake the roles of the IGG, headed by the former Uganda national Teachers’ Union (UNATU) chairman, Mr James Tweheyo and assisted by Martha Asiimwe and a one Sister Akior.
While delivering the State of the Nation Address to Parliament on Wednesday, the President said that the Inspectorate of Government has failed to deliver as expected.
“What happened to the IGG? Why don’t the victims of corruption report those incidents to the office of the IGG? That was the purpose of that office; to protect the public from corrupt officials; to protect the investors against corrupt officials. The IGG should reflect on this. Are her staff credible? Why does the public not trust that institution? We need answers,” Mr Museveni said.
He said selfishness and greed is one of the major factors that stifle economic development especially if not checked.
“I cannot fail to talk about mercenarism of the public officials and corruption of some of them. The mercenarism interferes with the patriotic attitude of the freedom fighters. People expect money for every little task. We could not have liberated this country if we did not have a high degree of altruism. This attitude of altruism must come back,” Mr Museveni said, noting that corrupt officials are protected by the public who fail to report, the “criminals”. “Otherwise, there is no criminal, we cannot handle,” he said.
However, Mulyagonja fired back at the President saying: “I don’t know why the President said we haven’t done much. What I know is that there are investors who approach him and tell him that there are public servants that tried to ask bribes, but when those investors are sent to us, they fear to come. It isn’t true that the Inspectorate has no credibility. We have some of the biggest cases we are investigating. His Excellency on some occasions summoned us and trusted us to investigate some of the big cases. We have credibility, we are still the leading institution investigating corruption in this country.”
Ms Mulyangonja is caught up in an investigation spat involving the Bank of Uganda, particularly against Governor Mr Emmanuel Tukusiime Mutebile and deposed former Executive Director for supervision Justine Bagyenda.
Ms Mulyagonja, who was seconded from the High Court has been the Inspector General of Government, since 12 April 2012. She will return to serve as a judge of the High Court at the end of her contract. Her tenure as IGG expires in
Reporting by Sarah Achen Kibisi/Xanthia Leni