CAO retracts Oulanyah burial contributions order

The Pader District chief administrative officer (CAO), Mr Alex Chelimo, has withdrawn a directive ordering town clerks and sub-county chiefs across the district to make mandatory contributions towards the burial of the late Jacob Oulanyah.
The former Speaker of Parliament passed away on March 20 in Seattle, US. 
In a March 29 letter, Mr Chelimo stated: “The purpose of this letter is to request all town councils to make a minimum contribution of Shs500,000 and sub-counties Shs300,000. This contribution should be separate from the current community contribution.”

He said the decision  was reached on March 22 at the first planning meeting for burial arrangements where it was resolved that lower local governments contribute towards the burial arrangement.
However, on Wednesday, Mr Chelimo authored another letter to the town clerks and sub-county chiefs in which he withdrew the orders and asked them to suspend the exercise.

“I am writing to retract my earlier communication towards contributions for the burial (of Oulanyah). This has been occasioned by the fact that the Government of Uganda shall cater for the burial expenses as provided for by the law,” the letter reads in part.
Mr Emmanuel Okware, the Pader deputy Resident District Commissioner (RDC), told this newspaper that the CAO acted illegally without consulting other stakeholders and that he had been ordered to withdraw the directive.
“Regarding the contributions asked by CAO, I want to confirm that the directive has been withdrawn. There is no more money being asked by the district from any of the sub-counties of Pader,” Mr Okware said.

In an interview, Mr Douglas Peter Okello, the Omoro District chairperson, said they were not aware of the collections from districts.
“In our tradition, people can mourn, people can make contributions but that contribution must be voluntary, not imposed,” Mr Okello said.
Mr Emmanuel Orach, the Nwoya District chairman, said: “That was uncalled for, it has been left to each district to raise what they can afford and my district has contributed Shs1 million which we will hand over to the family as a condolence.”

MPs disown funds
Meanwhile, MPs from Acholi Sub-region under the Acholi Parliamentary Group (APG) have distanced themselves from the proposal by the government to appropriate more than Shs312 million meant to facilitate part of the burial arrangements for the former Speaker of 11th Parliament.
In a document signed by the group chairman Mr Anthony Akol, the MPs said they will not receive the funds because the group is not a legally accountable entity.
“As legislators, we should also be cognizant of the laws and regulations governing public funds management. We also need to be mindful, that more often than not, people take advantage of such situations to quench their selfish ends,” the document reads in part.

It added: “This money should not be disbursed to any APG account or to any of its members to be spent on activities highlighted in the budget as this will not only bring us into a conflict of interest but also put us in a very awkward situation of being accounting officers whose role is not a preserve of APG.”
They argued that there was already a mismatch in the figures stated in the budget submitted by APG and those highlighted in the final budget.