By Our Reporter
The ongoing verification of refugees and asylum seekers has unearthed 7,000 ghosts in Nakivale refugee settlement in western Uganda.
According to the Minister for Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees, Hillary Onek, of the figure of 16,000 refugees and asylum seekers that some unscrupulous government officials claimed to exist, seven thousand were found to be ghosts.
The government ordered the verification exercise after it emerged that in Kampala only seven thousand refugees and asylum seekers existed, and not 17,000 as claimed by officials from the Refugee Desk in the Office of the Prime Minister.
In the case of Nakivale, Onek says the World Food Programme, and other partners, used to supply food and non-food items in bulk, ostensibly for 16,000 refugees, when in actual fact there are only 9000 genuine recipients. Later the items would be put to market for sale.
Onek describes the findings a big embarrassment to the government promising punitive measures to the officers behind the action.
He also revealed that Uganda got directly only US$1.4 million approximately five billion Shillings in cash from the proceeds at last year’s Solidarity Summit in support of refugees and asylum seekers far below the One billion dollars that was anticipated to be raised to support the humanitarian response in northern and western Uganda and in both Cash and pledges they received US$ 575 million only which is below the target.
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