By Spy Uganda
Entebbe: President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni on Wednesday August 5, 2020 launched an awareness campaign dubbed ‘Expose The Corrupt’, which is aimed at exposing all government officials and public servants who are convicted of corruption.
The launch of’ Expose The Corrupt’ campaign, which was held at State House Entebbe, was attended by several government officials tasked with fighting corruption, led by Lt. Col. Edith Nakalema, who heads the State House Anti-Corruption Unit. Also in attendance was the Director Public Prosecutions (DPP) Jane Francis Abodo, Deputy IGG George Bamugemereire, Benson Turame, the Executive Director Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets (PPDA), John Muwanga, the Auditor General, among others.
During the function, Museveni, who suggested that officials arrested should not be given bail, said that the first step in the fight against corruption is changing the mindset of citizens away from wanting quick wealth, using unscrupulous means.
“I was deliberate in setting up the various anti-corruption agencies. Previously, only the courts of law and the Police were the only agencies in place. The LC structure was supposed to be at the frontline in the fight against corruption, a people-led fight,” Museveni said.
He added that “The IGG’s focus is only public sector corruption, the graft in the private sector needs to be fought. That is one of the reasons State House AntiGraft Taskforce was created.”
He noted that; “Uganda has relevant anti corruption laws and agencies in place, hence the foundation of the fight against corruption is strong. The challenge is these agencies have been infiltrated by wrong characters.”
He challenged the heads of the various anti-corruption agencies to do character checks of their employees and advised that lifestyle audits should be carried out.
“Talk to the communities, leave your offices and interact with the citizens,” Museveni said.
As one of the strategies to fight corruption, President Museveni directed the State House Anti-Corruption Unit (SHACU) head Lt. Col. Nakalema to keep in close contact with the business community, since they have information that will aid in the fight against corruption in the procurement function of Government.
In her remarks about how far the SHACU has reached in fighting corruption, Nakalema revealed that so far, SHACU has saved government funds worth Shs20Bn. This includes:
– Shs.8Bn saved from inflated COVID-19 food relief.
– Shs.3.6Bn from inflated compensation of Bukasa port affected persons
-Shs.1.7Bn recovered from labour externalization companies
– Shs. 730Mn recovered from gaming & lottery board.
Nakalema also noted the SHACU coordinated the repatriation of 6 Ugandans that passed way in Arab countries.
“So far, 153 persons have been arraigned in court these include: a member of Parliament, a Permanent Secretary, a Bank of Uganda Official, a director, an undersecretary, commissioners, CAOs, etc.123 public officials have been interdicted,” Nakalema said.
She concluded her remarks by sharing that SHACU has intervened in murder cases, land grabbing and theft in various regions across the country.
Nakalema also thanked President Museveni for his continued guidance and strong leadership in leading the fight against corruption.
On his part, George Bamugemereire, the Deputy Inspector General of Government (DIGG), thanked President Museveni for setting up the various anti-corruption agencies. He indicated that there is a strong partnership across the different anti-corruption agencies.
Bamugemereire pointed out that there are many incidences of corruption in the procurement functions across GOU. To remedy this, all GOU procurements are being digitized and the Electronic Government Procurement system will soon be launched by government.
