Panic as DEO, Engineers and Accounting Officer in Maracha District Fled Out of Office Through Emergency Exit.

It was a drama this morning 6-6-2022 in Maracha District headquarters after an information leaked to these District Officials about an intention to arrest them over mismanagement of government funds.

This came after a directive from Minister of State for economic monitoring and planning Hon Peter Ogwang through a telephone call tasked the RDC Maracha District Mr Ayikobua Festus to arrest the above mentioned officials following uncompleted classroom construction works at Kololo Seed secondary school in Vurra Parish, Tara Sub-county Maracha District.

The Minister was angered by photos circulating on Social Media about a sealing board in one of the new classroom blocks that collapsed last Wednesday 1-June-2022.

According to the information this online publication team obtained, the project which was slated to be completed in 12 months starting from 2020, took two years.

Even still, despite of the project time frame, the work starting from the Classroom blocks, toilets for students, science lab, staff quarter houses and two more toilets for the teachers at the staff quarter have all remained incomplete and yet money has already been paid.

According to the BoQ a copy of which we obtained here (see photos), presented by the Contractor ACHORU UNITED TRADERS LTD which sums up to 1.3 billion shillings, the contractor with the approval of District officials went and withdrew 1.9 billion shillings from the District account.

Where as the directive from the Minister is to arrest Accounting Officer, Engineers and the former CAO Mr Okumu who is currently transferred to Pakwach District, the DEO for Maracha also escaped through a thin backdoor at the District headquarters for fear that, the arrest of those officials would implicate her as the overall Supervisor on Education matters in the District, something that signals she has been sleeping on her job that has now resulted into shoddy construction works in the District.

The RDC, at our presence called the former CAO to come for an explanation about thus matter, which he has accepted to come.

When we interviewed the RDC Mr Festus for a comment about the works, he said, he has totally condemned the level of shoddy work being done!

"Where is the value for money in that project", he asked.

We also managed to get some comments from the District LC5 Chairperson Hon Obitre Stephen who said, he summoned a crisis meeting together with the current CAO and other district officials to discuss a planned arrest of those officials by the RDC through a directive from Minister for economic monitoring and planning Hon Peter Ogwang.

He said, since financial year is coming to an end, they need these officials more to be in the office for documentation and other paper works to close the financial year henceforth arresting them would badly hamper their work.

He further narrated that, these officials in question should not run away, however, to prove their innocence, they should prepare the relevant documents concerning that project to answer to those queries.

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