The Katikiro of Buganda Kingdom, Charles Peter Mayiga has appealed to President Yoweri Museveni to focus his new anti-corruption fight on top government officials whom he says have entrenched the vice that is partly responsible for the raging poverty in the country.
Mayiga was addressing the Lukiiko sitting at Bulange Mengo. His statement was in response to President Museveni’s speech during the National Resistance Movement (NRM) party National Delegates’ Conference held over the weekend at Namboole international stadium.
In his speech, Museveni acknowledged that corruption was a big problem for Ugandans but hastened to add that it is easy to stop. He noted that his government had in the past tried to net the corrupt officers citing some in the Prime Minister’s office and others. The President named corruption, theft of government drugs, free education, house-hold incomes, illegal evictions and working on feeder roads as the priority areas on his government.
Now, Mayiga says there is need for the President to bring to book top corrupt government officials who seem to be untouchable. He observed that the NRM government has for the past 34 years devised ways to apprehend the corrupt but Ugandans are yet to be convinced by the results.
He says that for the government to succeed in its corruption fight there is need to net top officials like Ministers. Mayiga said that billions, which would help the country fight poverty among its citizens, are embezzled by the officials.
Ssenoga Kiligwajjo, the Representative of Gomba County in the Lukiiko noted that corruption and theft start from families hence the need for parents to ensure that they dedicate more time to teaching children about corruption tendencies.
A recent Corruption Perception Index, a global report by Transparency International, indicated that Uganda was progressing in the fight against corruption dropping 12 places from 149th position to 137 on a scale of 180 countries.
According to the report, Rwanda remains the least corrupt country in the East African region in position 51 followed by Tanzania in the 96th position with a score of 37 while Kenya and Uganda are tied together.
Burundi at 165 and South Sudan 179 remain the most corrupt countries in the region. To end corruption and restore trust in politics, Transparency International said that there is need to prevent opportunities for political corruption and to foster the integrity of political systems.
The global body also recommended governments to reduce the risk of conflict of interest, enforce campaign finance regulations in order to prevent excessive money and influence in politics, and strengthen election integrity by preventing and sanctioning vote-buying and misinformation campaigns.urn
