Kampala, Uganda – The Speaker of the Ugandan Parliament, R.t Hon. Anita Among, has emphasized the need for intensified public awareness campaigns to combat corruption.
She made the call today, while receiving the bi-annual reports of the Inspectorate of Government for the period covering July – December 2023 and January -June 2024 from the IGG, Beti Kamya.
“Create friendship with these people [citizens],” Speaker Among advised the IG. “When you create friendship with these people, they will be able to tell you so and so took this, and that will be a starting point.”
Article 231 (1) of the Constitution requires the IGG to submit to Parliament at least once every six months, a report on the performance of its functions and make recommendations for the efficient performance of public institutions.
The Speaker applauded the IGG for their dedication and consistency in complying with the requirements of the law.
She also tendered Parliament’s commitment to supporting the inspectorate to improve their budget and efficiency, and the need to transform their work into digital capabilities.
“I recognise the critical and ever-increasing need for the IGG in terms of budgetary requirements. I have seen that you are still in the analogue era; it would be good if you went digital for you to do an audit trail,” she said
“As Parliament, we will continue to do oversight on you, legislation and most importantly, we will do appropriation so that you are able to get what will enable you do the work.” The Speaker further stated
In her submission to the Speaker, the IGG revealed that for the period covering July – December 2023 and January -June 2024, the inspectorate recovered assets worth Shs8 billion, concluded 1,778 investigations and 63 prosecution cases, caused the conviction of 37 people, conducted 802 corruption-related investigations and inspected over 1,000 projects.
“It is evident that there was an increase in the number of complaints received by the IG, number of investigations concluded, funds ordered for recovery and an improvement in the conviction rate,” Kamya said
Kamya attributed the above success on improvements in internal processes such as prosecution led investigations and increased citizens’ engagements.
She however, decried inadequate funding, case backlogs, analogue systems and high staff turnover due to low remuneration as some of the major challenges impeding the inspectorate’s capacity to effectively implement its mandate.
She said there are over 5,000 cases that have not yet been investigated.
“Government should consider increasing the IG budget for operations, new vehicles and equipment, the fifth National Integrity Survey and staff training and recruitment,” Kamya said.
The Speaker highlighted that, the IGG bi-annual performance reports will be laid on the Floor of Parliament next week on Thursday and referred to the Committee on Legal and Parliamentary Affairs for scrutiny.
Corruption remains a significant challenge in Uganda, with estimates suggesting the country loses approximately UGX 10 trillion annually to corrupt practices.
