Why Col. Nakalema should thank the budget committee for exposing the radio scandal

Two unnamed top government officials have been sighted in the #Covid-19 radio-sets scandal as members of the Budget Parliamentary Committee investigated the factory that won the bid on Thursday evening.

During lockdown, the government earmarked over Shs330 billion from a supplementary budget to procure and distribute nine million radio sets to students nationwide to help facilitate home learning through lessons on radio networks.

Orion Electrics and Transformers Limited, the factory that won the bid is expected to supply five million radio sets valued at Shs33,000 each while the remaining four million radio sets will be imported at Shs42,000 each.

However, the Budget Parliamentary Committee discovered that the radio samples were actually imported from China through DHL and the factory also has no capacity to assemble or manufacture such radios in Uganda.

After touring the premises of Orion Transformers and Electrics Ltd at Namanve Industrial Park, the MPs questioned how the Education Ministry arrived at the market value of the radio sets from the company that has no single radio set on the Ugandan market.

The head of the Anti-Corruption Unit in the State House, Lt. Col. Edith Nakalema should intervene and investigate the way the program was being handled.

However, questions are being asked how the two powerful ladies evaded Col. Nakalema sight and went ahead to present a fake dealer to supply radios at the time when the economy is struggling.

The ladies both ministers of state and recently rejected in their bid to retain their seats in parliament are reported to be the ‘godmothers to the said Namave based investor.  Col. Nakalema should thank the budget committee for having the guts to expose the scandal but she should not leave scot free because of the irregularities involved.

The two ladies that had the ear of the president used their closeness to the head of state to front a quack supplier who used his buildings in Namave as a factory manufacturing these radios and yet they were being imported as spare parts.