By Hanning Mbabazi
Kampala: Senior officials of the National Water and Sewerage Corporation are having sleepless nights after learning that Lt. Col. Edith Nakalema’s Anti-corruption taskforce is set to investigate their operations, starting with the managing Director Dr. Silver Mugisha.
The investigation comes shortly after a Whistleblower petitioning the State House Anti- Corruption unit headed by Nakalema, asking it to investigate Eng. Mugisha’s financial discipline and management. According to the Whistleblower’s letter written on April 11, 2019, and received four days later on April 15, 2019, Mugisha and people below him working under his instructions are allegedly involved in acts that tantamount to abuse of office. The letter reads in part thus;
“There is extortion of kickbacks from service providers and this is done by Dr. Silver Mugisha through his wife’s shadowy organization known as Ba Mugisha Community Development Foundation. A thorough investigation should be carried out on his procurement dealings with among others VAMBECO, SOGEA SATOM and others.” The Whistleblower also alleges in the said letter that “…there is extortion of money from National Water and Sewerage Corporation staff to support activities of Ba Mugisha Community Development Foundation, a vehicle used for promoting Annet Katusiime Mugisha’s candidature in Bushenyi.”
The Whistleblower notes that “An investigation would help you appreciate the magnitude of this problem. Most of staff members if approached can testify .They fear the MD and cannot come out to complain on their own because he is vengeful and bully.” It is also alleged that NWSC boss has compromised the company’s board, Inspectorate of Government (IGG) and other oversight agencies whereas complaints by staff members have been ignored.
The letter is copied to the Parliamentary Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE), IGG, World Bank country representative, Director CID and the Minister for Water and Environment among other office. However, Mugisha trashed all these allegations as baseless lies. He said: “(Ba Mugisha Community Development Foundation) is a private company with its own activities different from National Water and Sewerage Corporation but if Nakalema finds anything in it, she will come and find out the truth.”
