THE health ministry yesterday released a new list of individuals
and institutions that have refunded the Global Fund money.
According to the list of recoveries submitted to the public
accounts committee yesterday by the ministry's accounting
officer, Kyambadde Ssenyongo, sh1b has been recovered of the sh3b
misappropriated.
The funds were meant to fight malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.
However, the figure is contrary to a recent revelation by the
Director of Public Prosecutions, Richard Butera, that sh2.3b had
been recovered by April and deposited at the Central Bank by
individuals and institutions implicated in the scam.
"Recoveries are being made though the matter is before court. So
far, sh1.1b has been recovered. We have not got all the money,
but some recoveries are being made through the DPP," he said.
Ssenyonga was appearing before the committee to answer questions
raised in the auditor general's report to parliament for the year
2008.
The report raised issues of unsupported expenditures, forged
accountabilities, unaccounted for funds and questionable payments
for travels.
The Global Fund scam was unearthed in 2005 by
Pricewaterhousecoopers, an audit firm, leading to the suspension
of the fund by donors.
President Yoweri Museveni appointed a judicial commission of
inquiry to probe the allegations of misappropriation.
The commission, headed by Justice James Ogoola, unearthed various
irregularities and implicated a number of people and NGOs,
including the then three health ministers, Jim Muhwezi, Mike
Mukula and Alex Kamugisha.
Ogoola called for further investigation, criminal prosecution and
the refund of sh3b.
The committee, chaired by Nandala Mafabi, however, agreed to
launch new investigations into the matter and directed the health
ministry to submit names of individuals who obtained money
through the institution.
"This is going to be a special issue for us. The public should
know the people who eat money meant for people living with HIV,"
Mafabi said.
A number of officials have since been convicted over the misuse
of the funds.
They include Teddy Seezi Cheeye, former director of economic
monitoring in the Internal Security Organisation. He was
convicted for misappropriating money allocated to his
organisation, Uganda Centre for Accountability.
Cheeye was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and is supposed to
refund sh110m of the sh120m advanced to his organisation.
Others are former director of programmes in the defunct Uganda
Television, Salongo Kavuma, who was sentenced to five years
imprisonment and is supposed to refund sh49m. Annaliza Mondon and
Elizabeth Ngororano were also ordered to refund the money in
addition to serving their prison sentences.