Councilors in Maracha to Spend Part of the 2025 / 2026 Financial Year Budget Money on Themselves.

Maracha District.

29-5-2025.

📸: Maracha District Headquarter. Courtesy Photo.

Councilors in Maracha District have debated and supported a motion seeking to award themselves 2M shs in the guise of acquiring T-shirts as service awards for Councilors serving in the 2021 - 2026 term of office.

During the 4th ordinary council sitting of the 4th session of the 3rd council on Thursday, 29-5-2025, Maracha District Council presented and debated the financial year 2025 / 2026 financial year budget to the tune of Shs 36 billion.

With the District Executive Committee (DEC) report recommending the Shs 2M to buy T-shirts as service awards for the Councilors, the Councilor representing the people of Oluffe Sub-county, Hon Paul Drasiku, ridiculed the idea of buying T-shirts rather proposed to the council agree and buy for them cooperative wears.

Unlike few other Councilors who spoke in affirmative for buying “Clothes” as service awards, the Male Youth Councilor for Maracha District, Hon Ariaka Vincent who made a very rare submission that displayed a likelihood of high appetite for taxpayers money, tried to convince the council to merge the 2m Shs for T-shirts and 6M Shs for capacity building and tours proposed for the Councilors in the budget, requested the Council to approve and give them cash monies instead of T-shirts as service awards.

“As a council, we have not been here in a money savings group and I would therefore suggest the council merge together the 2M Shs and 6M Shs and give it as cash money in envelopes for us the district councilors including the LC5 Chairperson Hon Obitre Stephen”, says Hon Ariaka as he planned to use his share of the money to buy meat or other things in his home.

Drambu Sub-county Councilor Hon Waga Charles, who is also the Secretary for Security in Maracha District Council, agreed with the few other Councilors who proposed the district buy for them Cooperative Wears, but he begged the council to implement it as soon as possible.

The Councilor for Agaii Town Council, Hon Asea Bosco who doubles as the LC5 Vice Chairperson for Maracha District, praised the District Executive Committee (DEC) and also the Committee of Finance whose secretary is the LC5 Chairperson Hon Obitre Stephen, for this wonderful decision to allocate for them money to procure items as service awards.

While disagreeing with the proposal of Hon Ariaka Vincent, who suggested merging the two monies in the budget and distributing it in envelopes for the Councilors, the LC5 Vice Chairperson expressed frosty feelings about the Ugandan laws that do not allow merger or diversion of government monies.

“Government funds and capacity building monies are highly regulated! Capacity building is highly regulated money, and it is only meant for generics and tours,” Hon Asea, who doubles as the leader of government business in Maracha District Council, stated.

📸: State of the dilapidated Cubiri Primary School latrines.

📸: One of the dilapidated latrines that collapsed at Cubiri Primary School in Obiba Sub-county, Maracha Constituency in Maracha District on 27-5-2025, leaving over 700 pupils at risk of defecating in the bush. Photo credit: Amandu Richard, Radio Pacis.

Despite this money allocation coming at a time when the district is grappling with service delivery challenges due to financial constraints, Maracha District LC5 Chairperson Hon Obitre Stephen welcomed the decision by the District Executive Committee (DEC) and the council to award its members.

📸: Hon Obitre Stephen, LC5 Chairperson for Maracha District. Courtesy Photo.

“I don't think squeezing only 2 Million Shs from the whole budget of 36 billion Shs can disorganize service delivery areas in the district”, the LC5 Chairperson lamented.

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