Mbale: Minister Balaam Uncovers Ghost Workers at Hospital, School; Arrests Headteacher

The Minister of Local Government, Balaam Barugahara, has uncovered nine ghost workers at Naiku Health Centre III in Bungokho Central, Mbale District, during an impromptu inspection that exposed widespread absenteeism and suspected payroll fraud. Barugahara said government pays 19 staff at the facility, yet only three had reported for duty by 9am when he arrived, prompting a review that established nine of the absent workers do not physically exist despite being listed on the duty roster and drawing salaries. “Disappointed; government pays 19 staff here but by the time we arrived at 9am, only 3 people had reported, and others were not there. And out of that, I have discovered nine of them are ghost workers,” Barugahara said.

He collected documents from the health centre to cross-check the discrepancies against records held by the District Health Officer, seeking to establish how fictitious names had persisted on the payroll and who benefits from the scheme. “We have collected the documents we needed here. We are going to verify with the DHO’s file to see why these people are not known by their workers here but then they continue to appear on the duty roster. Who signs for them, who takes that money, who are they so that government may have them out of the list and also arrest the people involved in this corruption,” he said. Barugahara described the scale of graft at the local government level as alarming and pledged further verification exercises across the country to root out similar cases, warning that the days of ghost workers and absentee staff are numbered.

“Corruption at Local Government is at an unprecedented level. We have always had it but now we are going to verify,” he said, linking the practice to Uganda’s unemployment crisis. According to the minister, funds meant for genuine health workers are instead being siphoned off by officials at district level while qualified graduates remain jobless and essential services suffer. “Many young people have graduated, they are looking for employment, they cannot get employment but some people in government at the district level are busy receiving this money meant for staff who should be deployed and they are not there.” He argued that if all approved positions were filled with actual workers, service delivery would improve significantly. “If we had all these jobs filled in, our people would be happier, and everyone would be happier. So, it is really unfortunate but this stupidity must stop,” Barugahara said.

After the health facility inspection, Barugahara proceeded to Naiku Primary School, where he uncovered a separate case of alleged fraud and ordered the arrest of the head teacher for inflating student numbers. A head count of learners conducted by the minister’s team showed that the school population stands at 705, yet the head teacher had reported an enrolment of 1,352 pupils. The inflated figures are believed to have been used to attract more capitation grants and other government resources than the school is entitled to, further underscoring what Barugahara described as entrenched corruption within local government institutions. The minister said those implicated will face arrest and prosecution as government moves to clean up payroll and enrolment records in both the health and education sectors.