By Ritah Kemigisa & Benjamin Jumbe
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) is to launch a major biometric verification exercise for all refugees in Uganda.
According to the senior regional spokesperson Ms Teresa Ongaro, the exercise which starts on March 1st till September 2018 is aimed at strengthening the integrity of data underpinning the refugee support operations.
Ms Ongaro says the exercise will also allay donor concerns that refugee’s numbers are inflated.
She meanwhile maintains that the Office of the Prime Minister refugee scandal has so far had no effect on their relationship with the government of Uganda but has greatly affected donor funding.
The minister for finance Hon.Matia Kasaija has asked media to selectively publish stories that may taint Uganda’s image on international scene.
The call comes amid reports about the death of four foreign investors in Uganda and several corruption scandals in the ministry of finance and Office of Prime Minister.
Hon.Kasaija tells journalists that despite being watchdogs they should also be patriotic.