Iganga operations stall over account freeze

Iganga district chairman, Mr Shaban Nkuutu (L). File photo

IGANGA. Administrative operations in Iganga District have for the last two months been paralysed following the freezing of the district bank accounts.
The accounts were closed mid-March on the orders of the High Court pending recovery of Shs1.2 billion that the district owes its 94 former parish chiefs.

The chiefs were laid off in 2005 for lack of requisite academic qualifications. This forced them to sue the local government over what they called wrongful dismissal.
In 2011, the court awarded them Shs1.2 billion in damages, costs and gratuity but the compensation remained outstanding.
In March, they secured the order to attach the accounts.
Last week, the deputy Registrar of the court, Mr Phillip Odoki, adjourned the case to Friday this week after the two parties failed to agree on a mode of payment.

“Our lawyer submitted how we have been paying them Shs100million every financial year and that we remained with a balance of Shs230 million, which we wanted to get from the frozen accounts but they refused,” the district chairman, Mr Shaban Nkuutu told Daily Monitor last week Friday.
On one of the frozen accounts in Crane Bank Iganga branch, government had just deposited about Shs11.3 billion meant for the rehabilitation of roads, drilling of boreholes and capitation grant for UPE schools.
“We haven’t been able to do anything since March. All activities have been grounded,” Mr Nkuutu said.