Is the Minister of Works on Course to Become the Worst-Performing Minister?

Minister of State for Transport, Hon. Fred Byamukama

I write this as my own opinion and as a well-disciplined Ugandan who does not condone corruption, because corruption has delayed our country from achieving middle-income status. However, how corruption is being fought, who is fighting it, and those who claim to be fighting it raise questions: Are they also clean?

I want to appreciate the approach being used by Hon. Balaam Barugahara Ateenyi and his deputy, Hon. Justine Nameere. These two ministers hold interface meetings with implicated officials after seeking to establish the truth on the ground.

This is different from the way my brother, Hon. Fred Byamukama, the Minister of Works, is handling the fight against corruption.

Remember, Mr. Balaam Barugahara works with the police. When an implicated officer fails to give a satisfactory account, he can hand the matter over to the police to record statements and conduct further investigations.

Mr. Balaam also understands very well that a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

I want to advise my brother, Hon. Byamukama, that if you do not incorporate this approach into your operations, you are likely to be rated as a minister who is fighting personal battles with his technical staff rather than fighting corruption. This could make you the first minister to fail in the Ministry of Works.

I listened to you on NBS, and much of what you talked about sounded like hearsay. I am telling you this as a brother, and you can either take it or leave it. You should also be mindful that you have faced allegations concerning land grabbing, and some of these matters are reportedly before court. Have you forgotten that your going through the election process unopposed also has many loopholes? Do you want us to parade these issues before the media so that Ugandans can judge for themselves whether Minister Byamukama is a clean man?

That is why I continue to appeal to the President of the Republic of Uganda, our Jaja, to hold an interface with all the dismissed officials from the Ministry of Works. There is a lot that you people may be hiding from Mzee while pretending to be fighting corruption.

Remember that, out of the four national roads you proudly presented before the parliamentary committee, some were completed by some of the dismissed officials.

I am not against you. You are my brother, and you know there is a saying: when you see a man wearing a coat, do not assume that you know what he is wearing underneath. So, my brother, if there are questions surrounding your own record, it is high time those issues were openly examined so that Mzee can also know the truth.