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1) World Bank report warns Africa on corruption Kampala
The 2010 World Bank report on African development indicators that will be released today, has warned of grave consequences if much attention is not given to the current quiet corruption experienced on the continent. Quiet corruption relates to civil servants who are paid salaries but neglect the delivery of services to the people who deserve to get them.
Although smaller in monetary terms, it is particularly harmful to the poor, who are more vulnerable and more reliant on government services and public systems.
In the report the World Bank says, corruption is pervasive and widespread across Africa and is having a disproportionate effect on the poor, with long-term consequences for development. “A child denied a proper education because of absentee teachers will suffer in adulthood, the absence of drugs and doctors translates to deaths from malaria and other diseases. Farmers used to receiving diluted fertilizers may choose to stop using them altogether, leaving them in low-productivity agriculture,” the report reads in part.
(2) Forestry boss Akankwasa out on bailCourt 2010-03-29 www.monitor.co.ug The suspended executive director of the National forestry Authority Damian Akankwasa who has spent the last nine days in Luzira Prison has been released on bail by the High Court. Akankwasa appeared before the head of the anti-corruption court Justice John Bosco Katutsi who released him on a non-cash bail of shs100 million. Related StoriesForestry boss Akankwasa sent to Luzira PrisonDrama at NFA as cleaners discover witchcraftLawyers want Akankwasa’s payment documentsForestry chief wants court to block her prosecution Last week, court sent Mr Akankwasa to jail over allegations that he influenced a questionable payment of $1,612,171 (about Shs3.4 billion) by the forestry body to businessmen. He is jointly accused with the NFA Legal Officer Molly Karuhanga and two others. Prosecution alleges that Mr Akankwasa and Ms Karuhanga between April and September 2009 without authority committed NFA and Beachside Development Services Ltd into a consent judgement in which damages worth about Shs3.4b were awarded against the forestry body. Justice Katutsi has directed Akankwasa to report to the Court’s registrar on April 14 for a hearing of the case and other conditions of his bail (3) Teacher absenteeism needs to be addressed Africa lags behind because of poor service delivery as a result of ‘silent corruption’. That is the surprising conclusion of a recent World Bank report. It defines silent corruption as petty bribery and abuse of public office, such as absenteeism of teachers.
Whereas big-time corruption involving high-placed politicians reduces the amount of money that goes to public services, silent corruption is felt by a larger number of people and has far-reaching consequences, the World Bank argues.
The report cites Uganda as one of the worst performers in terms of teacher absenteeism in Africa.
More than half of the teachers were found to be absent at least one day in the previous week of the survey and about a quarter were absent for two or more days. “Poor service delivery in education caused by absenteeism might hamper a child’s development, with potential permanent effects on adult educational attainment, cognitive skills and health,” the report noted. “As an indirect effect, we might think of the withdrawal of children from school because of beliefs about the low quality of education.”
Uganda has the highest dropout rate in the region. Less than a quarter of children who started universal primary school in 1997 were still at school six years later.
The report attributes teacher absenteeism to lack of supervision, inspection and sanctions, as well as resources leakages. Other reports have pointed at low salaries and high number of dependants, forcing teachers to run businesses to supplement their income.
Although teachers’ salaries have gone up in recent years, they are still insufficient to cater for an average family of seven children and a large number of dependants. With two thirds of the population below 18 years, Uganda has, arguably, the highest number of dependants in the world, placing a huge burden on the working age group.
While weaknesses in the education system need to be addressed, more fundamental issues need to be tackled to safeguard the gains of universal education. This includes increasing teachers’ salaries and reducing the number of dependants by slowing down population growth and broadening Africa lags behind because of poor service delivery as a result of ‘silent corruption’. That is the surprising conclusion of a recent World Bank report. It defines silent corruption as petty bribery and abuse of public office, such as absenteeism of teachers.
Whereas big-time corruption involving high-placed politicians reduces the amount of money that goes to public services, silent corruption is felt by a larger number of people and has far-reaching consequences, the World Bank argues.
The report cites Uganda as one of the worst performers in terms of teacher absenteeism in Africa.
More than half of the teachers were found to be absent at least one day in the previous week of the survey and about a quarter were absent for two or more days. “Poor service delivery in education caused by absenteeism might hamper a child’s development, with potential permanent effects on adult educational attainment, cognitive skills and health,” the report noted. “As an indirect effect, we might think of the withdrawal of children from school because of beliefs about the low quality of education.”
Uganda has the highest dropout rate in the region. Less than a quarter of children who started universal primary school in 1997 were still at school six years later.
The report attributes teacher absenteeism to lack of supervision, inspection and sanctions, as well as resources leakages. Other reports have pointed at low salaries and high number of dependants, forcing teachers to run businesses to supplement their income.
Although teachers’ salaries have gone up in recent years, they are still insufficient to cater for an average family of seven children and a large number of dependants. With two thirds of the population below 18 years, Uganda has, arguably, the highest number of dependants in the world, placing a huge burden on the working age group.
While weaknesses in the education system need to be addressed, more fundamental issues need to be tackled to safeguard the gains of universal education. This includes increasing teachers’ salaries and reducing the number of dependants by slowing down population growth and broadening
(4) Don’t vote for corrupt leaders – NGO Monday, 29th March, 2010 By Charles Ariko
TRANSPARENCY International Uganda has urged Ugandans not to vote for corrupt politicians in the 2011 general elections.
Robert Lugolobi, the executive director of the NGO, yesterday said disassociating with corrupt leaders was one of the ways through which Ugandans can fight corruption.
Lugolobi was yesterday addressing journalists at the Uganda Journalists Association in Kampala.
Citing an example of convicted Tingey county MP Herbert Sabila who was found guilty of corruption, Lugolobi said electing such a leader would be encouraging corruption.
Sabila was recently convicted by the Anti Corruption Court of giving a bribe of sh700,000.
Lugolobi said although the court found Sabila guilty, the sentence handed to him was not deterrent enough.
“Don’t elect corrupt leaders. By denying them votes, you are also denying them the chance to be corrupt,” Lugolobi said.
He regretted that even after being convicted, the MP was still in Parliament representing his constituents.
“To us that was a crime. The MP was convicted and given a light sentence,” Lugolobi said.
He disclosed that the NGO will join other civil society organisations to monitor the 2011 general elections.
(4)Corruption on the rise 2010-04-01 CORUPTION cases reported to the Police last year more than doubled compared to 2008, according to the 2009 Police report. There was also an increase in cases of ritual murders and deaths in accidents.
The report, which was released yesterday, however, shows an overall fall in reported crime cases from 119,000 to 103,000.
The number of corruption cases went up to 95 last year, up from 46 the previous year. This does not include the cases being investigated by the IGG.
According to Police boss Kale Kayihura, there was an increase in the number of cases involving NAADS funds, local government funds and land fraud.
“Given the pervasiveness of corruption, this number is too low. Few people bother to report to the Police for action,” Kale explained.
He said he had ordered Police officers all over the country to aggressively fight corruption.
“We should not always wait for the President to unearth these cases for us to follow them up,” the Police boss noted, adding that there was also need to wipe out corruption within the Police.
Ritual murders increased to 29 cases last year, up from 25 cases in 2008. Kale, however, said, most of the people reported as missing had been found.
Of the reported crime cases last year, about one third were taken to court and of these, a quarter led to convictions. Over 22,000 cases were still pending, bringing the total case backlog to 40,000.
Theft was the leading crime in Uganda last year, with over 27,000 cases registered; followed by assaults (17,000) and economic crimes (11,000).
Property worth sh167b was lost and less than 10% of that was recovered. Sex-related offenses on the other went down considerably, from 12,000 in 2008 to about 7,000 last year. Rape cases were 619 compared to 1,536 in the previous year.
A total of 165 guns and 580 ammunition were recovered from criminals, higher than in 2008.
The number of deaths in accidents continues to rise. Over 2,700 people were killed in road accidents last year, as opposed to 2,300 in 2007. No figures for 2008 were made available.
Kampala continues to top the list of crime cases, with over 28,000, followed by eastern Uganda. Within Kampala, Katwe, Kawempe, Old Kampala and Kabalagala have the highest crime rates.
(5) IGG accuses Amuru officials of bribery By Chris Ocowum
AMURU district civil servants have been accused by the officials of the Inspector General of Government of demanding bribes from youth looking for jobs.
This was during a meeting organized by the directorate of ethics and integrity for leaders from Gulu, Kitgum, Pader, Amuru and Lamwo districts at Gulu Churchill Courts Hotel recently.
Daniel Luutu, the northern region IGG officer, said there was a problem with the recruitment of civil servants in the district.
He explained that those who ask for jobs are told to pay bribes equal to a three-month salary of a civil servant.
“One person went to a bank and got a loan to pay a bribe worth millions of shillings to be recruited as the district NAADS coordinator. However, the job was given to another person,” Luutu disclosed.
Kitgum resident district commissioner Alfred Omony Ogaba suggested that all the Amuru civil servants be dismissed and their positions declared vacant.
Amuru resident district commissioner Edwin Yakobo Komakech told the meeting that he had complained about the corruption in the district to the IGG but no action was taken.
“There is need for the directorate of ethics and integrity to strengthen the office of the district Police commander to investigate corruption cases thoroughly,” he said.
The ethics and integrity minister, Dr. Nsaba Butuuro, described corruption as a coup against good governance, saying those who are promoting it want to cause instability in the country.
He said corrupt people should be punished harshly so that the public knows that corruption does not pay.
Pader district chairperson Peter Odok W’Ocheng, blamed some IGG officials for conspiring with corrupt civil servants.
He said in many instances when corruption cases are reported against civil servants who have relatives in the IGG office, no action is taken.
(6).Museveni: Opposition more corrupt 2010-04-09 Lira President Museveni says opposition leaders in local governments are more corrupt than NRM members. Mr Museveni was speaking at Okole Primary School in Kole County, Apac District after addressing a similarly large rally at Aduku Primary School in Kwania on Tuesday. “When these district leaders are not from the Movement, they cause a lot of problems like squandering money,” he said. “The Movement can be corrupt but the opposition are more corrupt,” he added. The President’s remarks followed his pronouncement that he was reluctant to grant Kole a district status. Also in attendance was Lands Minister Daniel Omara Atubo, Oyam Woman MP Beatrice Lagada and area MP John Ogwang Ber dwogo. No way He said he could not support the idea of Kole becoming a district because “he cannot continue to produce children and they are grabbed by other people.” The newly-created Otuke District chairmanship was won by the opposition despite assurance that NRM would take it easily. - Related Stories · - Museveni hits back in row with donors· - Pile pressure on Museveni - opposition· -Gen. Muntu speaks on bush war· Tales of torture and death President Museveni is on aProsperity-for-all campaign in Lango sub region. He is expected to carry the same message to Oyam, Otuke and Lira Municipality this week. He said he wants to give an ox plough, a pair of oxen and heifer to a women’s group in each of the parishes in Lango to eradicate poverty. (7).Koboko court clerk arrested over bribe 2010-04-09 A CLERK at the grade two magistrates court in Koboko district was on Wednesday arrested and detained at the Central Police Station for allegedly accepting a bribe of sh30,000.
Caesar Kenyi was caught by the district criminal investigations chief, Francis Olugu and the internal security officer.
The Police records indicate that the arrest took place as Kenyi allegedly received the money from a widow who wanted to process an affidavit.
The district Police chief, Edison Muganzi, said the woman had earlier in the day approached the Police, complaining that Kenyi had refused to issue her the affidavit if she did not pay sh50,000.
The woman, whose husband was a UPDF soldier, wanted the affidavit to claim the deceased’s benefits from the army offices at Bombo.
Muganzi disclosed that many other complaints against Kenyi had been filed, saying they were fed up with his method of work.
“We appeal to whoever has complaints against this man to come and report to the Police so that we have him charged in court,” Muganzi said.
Several cases of bribery have been reported across the country mainly over court settlements and processing of paperwork.
(8) Arua CID boss held over bribe Wednesday, 28 April 2010 18:55 Emmanuel Mbonimpa, the Officer in Charge of criminal investigations (CID) in Arua has been arrested for allegedly releasing a Congolese national suspected of being behind the rampant theft of vehicles in Uganda. Mbonimpa was arrested on April 23, a day after Michael Samunga, the suspect, was released. Samunga was recently arrested by Rapid Response Unit (RRU) detectives and detained at Arua Central Police Station. However, it is alleged that Mbonimpa accepted a bribe amounting to $1,500 (about Shs 3 million) to release the suspect after tampering with the evidence. Otika Patrick Akubu, the West Nile Regional Police Commander, confirmed Mbonimpa’s arrest but declined to divulge any details. The Arua Resident District Commissioner, Maj. Ibrahim Abiriga said he had not been briefed about Mbonimpa’s arrest but unofficial sources told him that $1,500 was recovered from him. The money was reportedly delivered to Mbonimpa by the wife of the suspected carjacker. He said Samunga was still being investigated for his alleged role in the carjacking racket when he mysteriously disappeared from custody. He becomes the second Congolese national arrested in connection with vehicle thefts this year. On March 14, Police in Arua arrested a Congolese national, Jack Kombo, accused of making fake number plates used in the theft of vehicles. Kombo was arrested with the help of a surveillance device, the Global Positioning System (GPS), all the way from Kenya. He was arrested at Ripons Estate Gardens in Arua with a Toyota Corona Reg. No: KBJ880S, suspected to have been stolen from Kenya on February 27. Four more suspected stolen vehicles were also found at his residence. While Police said last month that Kombo would be taken to Kenya to be tried, the suspect has since disappeared from Police custody. (9) IGG wants NFA boss Akankwasa sacked Wednesday 12/5/2010 THE IGG has recommended the immediate sacking and prosecution of the suspended National Forestry Authority (NFA) boss, Damian Akankwasa, over the sh900m saga. The IGG made the recommendation in a report on claims by Akankwasa that his wife, Juliet Katusiime, stole the sh900m he kept in their bedroom last year.
The IGG accused Akankwasa of abuse of office, failure to declare all his wealth and causing a financial loss of over sh2.8b to NFA through suspicious deals. The IGG suspects the sh900m could have come from such deals.
In a May 7 letter to the water and environment minister, Maria Mutagamba, the IGG said Akankwasa made arbitrary decisions disregarding formal procedures.
The IGG cited a tender awarded to Nile Plywood to harvest timber in Katugo Central Forest Reserve at sh62,500 per cubic meter, instead of sh82,500.
“The contract for the harvest of dying trees given to M/s Nile Plywood (U) Ltd after cancellation of the earlier advert was not subjected to another fresh advert for competitiveness and transparency,” the nine-page document read.
“His claim that the board, in its sitting of 15/11/2007 and 27/2/2008, evaluated and agreed to allocate M/s Nile Plywood (U) Ltd 100,000 more cubic meters was proved to be false. There was no resolution to that effect in the said minutes to the board.”
The investigation team rejected claims that the trees were ‘dying’. Forest officers there also confirmed that the trees were healthy.
“The executive director’s actions of giving 100,000 more cubic meters of round wood for harvest at sh62,500 instead of sh82,500 to M/s Plywood (U) Ltd resulted into a loss of sh20,000 per cubic meter, which was equivalent to sh2b,” the report said.
Akankwasa was also accused of causing another loss of sh760m when he, on June 17, 2009, awarded the same company licenses in Lendu Forest Reserve to harvest wood at sh46,000 per cubic meter, a rate set four years earlier.
“He ignored inflation and the depreciation of the shilling and the prevailing price of sh65,000 per cubic meter set by the price committee,” the document stated.
Akankwasa was also accused of causing a loss of sh100m after Woodco was awarded a contract to cut 100,000 eucalyptus trees at sh10,000 each instead of sh20,000. He was also faulted for giving away Nakawa Forest Reserve to Viro Holdings without considering other bidders, whom the IGG believe could have offered “better terms”.
Akankwasa’s troubles began last year when he claimed that his wife, currently on trial, stole sh900m he was keeping in their home in Naguru, a Kampala city suburb.
The money, Akankwasa claimed, was pooled by him, his brothers, John Bagambe and William Akankwasa, and 25 business associates to purchase a plot of land.
However, the IGG discovered that the brothers had no financial capacity to raise the money. Additionally, there was no evidence to that effect.
“The statements given by George William Akankwasa, John Bagambe and their 25 business associates were found to be inconsistent and untruthful,” the report said, adding that there was no evidence in any bank.
Akankwasa reportedly failed to satisfactorily explain the source of the sh900m yet there had been “minimum withdrawals” on his account.
“From the above dealings, it is highly probable that the sh900m Damian Akankwasa claimed to have been lost from his house and source of income for construction of his guest house at Plot 11 Balikuddembe Road, Naguru and the acquisition of the commercial building in Kabuyanda trading center in Isingiro district are either rewards or inducements for the under-pricing of forestry products,” the report added.
The team also questioned the source of the money he used to build the guest house, which was valued at sh580m by January 2010. The IGG further said Akankwasa never declared the guest house, which was described as being “in excess of his income”.
In addition, the IGG found that NFA paid sh836,489 in water bills yet the water was used to construct the guest house.
The IGG further questioned the source of sh50m Akankwasa paid for a house in western Uganda.
(10) Chogm suspects advised to resign Posted Thursday, May 27 2010 at 00:00 Kampala Anti corruption activists have asked public officials who were implicated in the Chogm report to resign. Addressing journalists in Kampala yesterday, Ms Cissy Kagaba, the executive director Anti Corruption Coalition Uganda, said the officials should step aside to pave way for investigations. Vote them out
“We expected them to have done that earlier but since our leaders have not been cultured in that respect, ACCU now demands that they step aside until they are cleared because they don’t deserve to conduct official business on behalf of the citizens,” Ms Kagaba said. Top government ministers and permanent secretaries have been on the spotlight over reported misappropriation of the funds which were released in preparation for Chogm in 2007. The cost for hosting Chogm went up from Sh370 billion to over Sh500 billion.
According to the Auditor General’s report, billions of shillings were lost in irregular procurement of the Chogm cars, road construction and repairs, and the renovation of Entebbe Airport.
Ms Kagaba said the 10 legislators who refused to sign the Chogm report should not be voted back to Parliament. “We ask the public particularly those represented by the 10 MPs who did not append their signatures on the final Chogm report to vote them out,” she said. The MPs include committee vice chairperson Rebecca Amuge (Independent), Tindamanyire Kabondo(NRM) Terence Achia (NRM) Beatrice Lagada (NRM) Alex Byarugaba (NRM). Others are Saleh Kamba(NRM),Badhul Katongole(NRM), Alex Ndeezi (NRM), William Nsubuga (NRM) and Isaac Sejjoba(NRM). Ms Kagaba also asked all those implicated in the report and hold public offices to step aside to pave way for debate and investigations on the principle of moral obligation. The activists also want the government to put a time frame in which the recommendations of the report should be implemented to avoid being over taken by events. “A specific deadline should be set for recommendations to be implemented to avoid what has always characterised most inquiry reports that are gathering dust,” she said. However, the Inspectorate of Government, Raphael Baku, who is supposed to implement some of the Chogm report recommendations, has said it lacks incriminating evidence against suspects named by the Public Accounts Committee and promised to carry out fresh investigations against people who were involved. Corruption can be good – Museveni President Museveni has said that while corruption leads to wastage of public resources, it also has a good side to it. Speaking in Masindi last week, Museveni virtually defended corrupt civil servants and politicians, saying they also greatly contribute to national development by investing in the country money they swindle from public coffers. By thus investing, the President said, the thieves build the national economy. The President was presiding over the passing out of 238 Police officers who had completed a three-month operational commanders’ course at the Kabalye-based Police Training School. The graduands included 46 officers from Sudan. The opposition and donors have often criticised the Museveni government over what they see as lack of political will to fight corruption. The donors in particular have cited the misuse of money meant for the 2007 Commonwealth summit (CHOGM), and the Global Fund, among others, to make their point. In Masindi, although Museveni directed the Police to crack down on corrupt officials, it was ultimately not clear how much he meant what he said because, in the same lecture, he turned around and defended corrupt government officials. “In 1986 we inherited a very small resource envelope for the country—the country was collecting Shs 5 billion from tax, today we are collecting Shs 5,000 billion but much of it is [stolen] by corrupt civil servants and politicians,” Museveni said. The President added: “These thieves also build the country, but in a disorganised way; they swindle money and build houses; yes, they are also contributing to the development of the country but in a disorganised way.” Later on Saturday, while presiding over the 2010 CNN Multichoice African Journalism Awards at Kampala Serena Hotel, Museveni said corruption was not one of the strategic bottlenecks to development. He said there were some African countries that were run impeccably – the Christian type – that were still underdeveloped. Museveni accused the Police force of being inefficient in investigating crime, especially corruption. He directed CID officers at all levels to work with the Auditor General’s Office to investigate cases of corruption and bring culprits to book. “You deploy agents in health centres, to report public officials who are stealing our drugs. Why are you inefficient in this technological era?” Museveni wondered. He said corruption had increased the cost of doing business in Uganda due to bribery. He said he had won the war on resources but is being let down by people who are swindling public resources. Besides bribery, the President said that investor confidence was affected by the Police’s failure to investigate other crimes such as murder. However, officers blamed the inefficiency on few personnel in the force, saying they are often overhelmed by the volume of work. Museveni said he will recruit more Police officers after addressing national priorities such as electricity generation. Uganda, he said, has about 36,000 Police officers instead of the required 60,000. “The Police, civilian ratio is supposed to be 1:500 (one Police officer per 500 people); going by our population you are still few, we shall increase the number but you should also be efficient,” Museveni said. He added that government planned to recruit 16,000 temporary officers to Police the 2011 general elections. The President also said that he is working to eradicate peasantry. “In our family, Mzee Kaguta is the last peasant, no more peasants in our family; we are still pursuing our goal of social economic development; future Ugandans will be either in middle class or skilled,” the President said. | | | | | Written by Editorial | | Wednesday, 02 June 2010 19:23 | | President Museveni’s equivocal remarks about corruption may send mixed signals about his political commitment to fight corruption in the public sector. While speaking at the passing out of officers at Masindi Police Training School, the President suggested that even the corrupt public servants contributed to national development by starting investments in the country. On the same day, during the CNN Multichoice Africa Journalism Awards gala, the President said that corruption was not a key strategic problem in African because he has known countries that have been near squeaky-clean but have still failed to develop. This, coming from President Museveni who has vowed to punish those who have messed up with the national purse, and who has also established an independent anti-corruption court to try those involved in corruption, is very confusing. True, these corrupt officials could have opened up businesses, constructed huge malls and, consequently, employed some people as builders and suppliers of building materials, but at whose expense? How about those who have lost their lives and jobs as a consequence of these corrupt officials’ actions? How about those whose life expectancy was shortened because officials diverted into their private pockets money meant to buy ARVs and other drugs? Incredibly, corruption impacts most heavily on the poor, as it illegally diverts state funds from essential public services such as health, education, transport and policing. At its worst, bribery is an integral part of setting up or doing business and, therefore, is a heavy cost on all citizens. Mr. President, we would like to believe that you said this in jest. For if you meant what you said, your message is bound to send mixed signals to the corrupt, those fighting corruption and the general public. | | Nkumba guild in Shs 2m scandal Nkumba University Guild is in turmoil following the loss of Shs 2 million from the office of the president.
The incident happened on May 28, at around 11.30p.m., according to a statement made by the Guild President, Derrick Lufunya, at the University Security Office. In the statement, Lufunya implicated five guild officials as prime suspects.
Lufunya alleges that he found those officials in the speaker’s office holding what he termed an illegal meeting, while his office door was open.
However, the said student leaders denied any knowledge of the money, describing the allegations as a smear campaign.
Earlier, rumours had circulated at campus that the Guild President, Lufunya, had misappropriated Shs 5 million meant for the swearing in-ceremony and handover that took place on May 19.
Following these reports, the Finance minister, Marvine Mavengina, resigned, citing corruption in the guild.b “I will account for every penny of the money two weeks after the closure of the semester according to the financial rules and regulations of the guild,” the Guild President said.
The Dean of Students, Christopher David Kasasa, declined to comment, saying he does not want to jeopardise Police investigations. Mayuge LC5 boss arrested over bribe Wednesday, 9th June, 2010 By George Bita and Betty Angatai
THE acting Mayuge district chairman, Samuel Mulungi, was on Monday night arrested for allegedly soliciting for a bribe from a job applicant. Mulungi was picked up by plain-clothes policemen from his home in Mayuge town and taken to Bugiri Police headquarters, about 40km away.
This followed a complaint filed by Yisa Budungo, a resident of Buyengo sub-county, saying Mulungi asked him for a sh3m bribe to help him get a job in the district council.
“However, a witness said after paying the money, Budungo did not find his name on the list of the shortlisted candidates on the notice board. “Shortly afterwards, he boarded a taxi and headed home, threatening to cause an arrest,” the witness said.
The south-eastern regional Police commander, Christopher Kubai, disclosed that Mulungi had been released on Police bond after recording a statement. “The district chairman was arrested and taken to Bugiri because that is where the case was reported. However, he was released after making a statement,” Kubai said.
According to Kubai, Mulungi would be prosecuted once the investigations are complete. Mulungi has been acting district chairman since the disappearance of the former chairman, Ikoba Tigawalana, in December 2009, after the court of appeal convicted him of murder.
Mulungi was recently dropped by the district council and replaced by the speaker, Fred Wojekirana, but a local government directive reversed the decision. A total of 15 contestants are warming up to take over the district seat although the Electoral Commission boss, Eng. Badru Kiggundu, ruled out the possibility of holding a by-election before next year’s general elections.
Kampala tops new corruption listTop of Form
vernment officials digging their hand into the till to directly pull out public funds remains the top form of corruption, the Inspectorate of government has said in a new report. At 19.4 percent of complaints recorded at the IGG, mismanagement and misappropriation of public resources is the most reported form of corruption. Ugandans also view and complain about non-payment of salaries at 18.7 per cent, followed by abuse of office at 17.8 per cent, delays in delivery of services, which often leads to solicitation and offering of bribes stands at 9.1 per cent. Property disputes, also viewed as a form of corruption stand at 7.3 per cent. Related Stories The report released by IGG Raphael Baku also reveals forgery and uttering of false documents, embezzlement, tenders and contracts manipulation, bribery and extortion, victimization or oppression, conflict of interest, false claims and tax evasion among the issues that irk many Ugandans. The report details how worsening corruption is hamstringing delivery of government services to ordinary citizens and rendering key public institutions useless.
The report released yesterday, covering the financial year ending December 2009, puts Kampala in the lead of most complained-about administrative units while district local governments top public institutions perceived to be corrupt. Kampala has the highest number of complaints at 418, followed by Fort Portal Municipality (56), Masaka (54), Arua (46) and Jinja (40), among others. The least complained about administrative areas are Mbale (13) and Moroto (16), implying outwardly that staff in these areas are less thieving. Mr Baku said: “The complaints in the report are just a small fraction of the problems of corruption out there. Many people [suffer silently] and have not come out to report.” In the latest report, districts have for the third year running topped the list of the most complained-about institutions. This may be because ordinary citizens interface more with district, rather than central government, employees on daily basis and get first-hand brush with money-hungry bureaucrats. The IGG, for instance, reports that bidders often offer bribes to Chief Administrative Officers (CAOs) and other officials --- so in the end, service providers do substandard work which the bribe-takers ironically monitor! “Individual public officials have continued to use their offices for private gain,” reads the report. Despite the establishment of various institutions, among them the IGG, the Police Criminal Investigations Directorate and the Directorate of Public Prosecutions, to catch thieves in government, critics say less political will exists to follow through arrests, prosecutions and punishments of perpetrators. The World Bank estimated in 2005 that Uganda loses about $300 million (Shs600 billion) through corruption and procurement malpractices every year, much of this being money meant for providing clean water, quality education, good roads and medicines in public health facilities. President Museveni has vowed to abolish the vice but majority Ugandans interviewed in a survey joint commissioned by Daily Monitor and European Union’s Deepening said soaring corruption is NRM’s biggest failure. Yesterday, Mr Baku said fraudulent contract awards, shoddy works, fraudulent recruitment and unfair administrative decisions fuel corruption in the country. That trend, he said, would only change if citizens get motivated that corrupt official they report are tried and punished.
Police prominently feature in the latest report, mainly on cases of bribe-taking, mismanagement, delayed service, victimisation/oppression, conflict of interest and misconduct. In the reporting period, the IGG received a total 827 corruption-related complaints, up from 739 complaints reported between January-July 2009.
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