{UAH} Scandal As Tycoons Accuse Health Min. PS Atwine Of Awarding Sister Multimillions COVID-19 Quarantine Deal

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health Dr Diana Kanzira Atwine, has come under fire after she was accused by city businessmen of allegedly using influence-peddling to ensure that her sister Florence Tumwebaze  scoops a deal to hire her hotel in Makerere-Kikoni to government such that it can be used as an isolation centre for COVID-19 suspects.

It is alleged that Dr Atwine's Florence, who is the wife of Frank Tumwebaze, the Minister for Gender, Labour and Social Development, is the proprietor of Numbani Hotel Kampala, which is located in the congested Makerere-Kikoni suburb.

A few weeks ago, insiders reveal, Florence's Nyumbani Hotel signed a contract with the Ministry of Health worth millions of shillings, such that the facility's premises could be used by government as a quarantine/isolation centre for Coronavirus suspects, especially returnees from abroad.

Florence's Nyumbani Hotel that signed a contract with the Ministry of Health worth millions of shillings

However, although there were several other bidders who had bid for the same contract and with better facilities compared to Nyumbani Hotel, the mechanisms and tactics Florence used to scoop the deal have since raised eyebrows.

This is because the complainants, many of city real estate proprietors, claim that although they had offered the Ministry more spacious facilities and at lower rates, Florence's Nyumbani Hotel still secured the contract, thanks to the strings that were being pulled by the Permanent secretary, thanks to her connection with Florence and Minister Tumwebaze.

Many of the disgruntled people are now accusing Dr Atwine or influence-peddling, conflict of interest and flouting procurement regulations so as to help her sister benefit from the COVID-19 pandemic, at the expense of government and the taxpayers.

They wonder how and why an Accounting Officer could get involved in a matter that is tasked to the Procurement Department and specifically the Contracts Committee. But is alleged that she sued her clout and influence at the Ministry of Health to directly order her juniors to award the contract to her sister's hotel, well-knowing that this would be conflict of interest.

It should be noted that government issued a directive in March requiring all returning Ugandans to personally pay for the quarantine accommodation, meals and other services, whereby each Ugandans had to pay over USD150 per day, for the 14 days they were to spend in quarantine.

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"When a man is stung by a bee, he doesn't set off to destroy all beehives"

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