By Juma Nsubuga
The Parliamentary committee on Government Assurances and Implementation has written to the Minister of Education and Sports Janet Kataha Museveni, requesting her together with the minister of finance and economic development Matia Kasaija to appear before the committee on Tuesday to update them on the funds which were approved by parliament in 2021 to help Ugandan traditional schools.
In accordance with rule 179 of the rules of procedure of parliament of Uganda, the committee is mandated to monitor and evaluate the fulfilment and implementation of government assurances among others.
According to the committee’s chairperson also Mukono municipality MP Betty Nambooze Bakireke (NUP) during an exclusive interview with this news site, both ministers have been invited to throw more light on the USD130m government borrowed from World Bank in 2021 to support the construction of 232 seed schools in sub-counties where they did not exist under the intergovernmental fiscal transfer program.
“We have invited both ministers of education and sports and finance and economic development. First of all, the minister of education as a custodian or implementor of this project and the minister of finance who deals with all funds of this country to establish where these monies are which was approved by parliament for the construction of the 232 seed schools” the lawmaker said.
She further stressed that the committee is also interested in knowing about another Shs286bn which was borrowed from the World Bank to rehabilitate and support thirteen traditional schools to act as centres of excellence and mentorship facilities for secondary schools in Uganda.
The schools include, St Henry’s college Kitovu, Lango college, Bukedi college, Nabisunsa girls, Nabumali high, Makerere college ,Kigezi high and Ntare among others.
Nambooze says each school was supposed to receive Shs20bn.
“During our (committee) oversight visit to these schools last week, we discovered that none of these schools received any fund yet the money was dispatched. That’s why we have called the ministers responsible to come and clarify on the matter” she said.
The funds were borrowed to reconstruct the old buildings which were built in 90’s in the mentioned government schools.
