Dr. Aminah Zawedde is the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance
KAMPALA —The Ministry of ICT and National Guidance has described as malicious online media reports that the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development blocked them from accessing Shs6.7b of Non-Tax Revenue (NTR) collected by Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) over alleged abuse.
In a statement issued on Monday, August 5, 2024, the ICT Ministry said the Finance Ministry approved the use of the funds.
“This is to CLARIFY that the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development early this year granted approval for use of the funds to the Ministry of ICT & National Guidance in execution of its activities. Therefore, the claims that the ministry was stopped from using the said resources are UNTRUE,” the statement reads in part.
According to media reports, in September 2023, Zawedde requested permission from Ggoobi to “utlilise Shs 6.7bn” collected by UCC.
The media reports add that Ggoobi discovered that Zawedde was requesting access to funding from UCC to pay for activities that were already budgeted for in the main budget of the ICT Ministry.
But the Ministry of ICT said no such thing happened and that it is committed to the principles of transparency, accountability, and efficient resource management.
“We uphold these standards to ensure that all expenditures are managed prudently. We implore our media stakeholders to REFRAIN from defamatory attacks of any form on our officials and encourage constructive dialogue.
The Ministry of ICT and National Guidance remains open to sharing information with the public and media, in line with our commitment to open government principles,” they added.
