How much has government done to fight corruption?   By Joel Ogwang   Corruption has, for a long time, been a thorn in the flesh in Uganda. According to the World Bank and the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) estimates, over sh500b is lost annually to corruption.   What is corruption? According to Transparency International (TI), corruption is simply “misuse of entrusted public power for private gain”. The common forms of corruption include bribery, patronage, nepotism, embezzlement, fraud, extortion, tax evasion, falsification of documents, collusion and forgery, among others.   Costs and effects In a democratic system, offices and institutions lose their legitimacy when they are misused for private advantage. Corruption leads to the depletion of national wealth, hinders the development of fair market structures and distorts competition, thereby deterring investment. The effect of corruption on the social fabric of society is the most damaging of all. It undermines people’s trust in the political system, in its institutions and its leadership. Frustration and general apathy among a disillusioned public result in a weak civil society, clearing the way for despots as well as democratically elected, yet unscrupulous leaders who turn national assets into personal wealth. Lack of, or non-enforcement of environmental regulations and legislation allows pollution, over-exploitation of natural resources, and other environmental damage which ravage natural environments. The effects of corruption cannot be overstated. In Uganda, it has had a devastating effect, resulting in shoddy road works, theft of drugs in hospitals, unfair recruitment regime and dismissals, among others. Dr. Nsaba Buturo, the ethics and integrity minister, says all Ugandans will suffer unless there is tough action on corruption.   Museveni declared this the year of zero tolerance to corruption   “Should everyone else fail, the country should consider the Chinese style of (punishing culprits by) firing squad,” Buturo said in one of his public speeches. The NRM regime has taken stick for allegedly perpetuating corruption. Dr. Kizza Besigye, the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) chief, reckons that corruption has escalated in the 23-year reign of the NRM government. “National resources are used to benefit a few whilst leaving the majority to wallow in poverty.” he says.   What donors say Development partners want fair and transparent use of resources, asking the Government to extend the fight against corruption to all sectors and corners of the country, in order to stem the culture of impunity. Vincent De Visscher, the European Union (EU) head of delegation, says the Government has to walk its zero tolerance to corruption talk. The EU is tracking corruption everywhere — in NAADS, CHOGM, Global Fund and the private sector, he says. “We want to see these (corrupt) people brought to justice to avoid impunity and a situation where some people are immune to prosecution,” says De Visscher. This, De Visscher says, will restore confidence in the public. “The Government must demonstrate to the public that it can fight corruption by bringing the culprits to justice,” says Visscher.   What has the NRM government done? There has been wild criticism of the NRM government as having no political will to fight corruption. Proponents of this view point to impunity, where suspects escape the long arm of the law through their close ties to the presidency and the NRM. However, contrary to this view, the NRM government has made tremendous strides in fighting corruption. For starters, the promulgation of the 1995 Constitution was a milestone in fighting corruption. This followed a stint of abrogation of the constitution by the then Apolo Milton Obote and Idi Amin Dada regimes, where the rule of law was replaced with decrees. The gazzetting of the constitution gave birth to the enactment of the Corruption and Penal Code Act that define penalties for culprits and rewards the aggrieved parties, according to the Uganda Debt Network (UDN). There is also the Leadership Code that obliges public servants to declare their wealth and liabilities, the Inspector General of Government (IGG) Statute and the Prevention of Corruption Act. Under the 2002 Leadership Code, leaders have to declare their incomes and assets and explain how they acquired them in a bid to promote transparency and accountability. About 90% of the over 19,000 leaders submitted their declarations in the first half of 2009. Of those, the report says, about 6,500 were examined. That leaves over 1,700 leaders who did not comply with the leadership code but their names were not revealed. The report also gives details of gifts declared by only three leaders. The Leadership Code requires that any gifts above sh100,000 be declared. The report further says the IGG received 739 complaints against public officials between January and June 2009. Almost half of all these were about abuse of office and mismanagement or theft of public funds. Other complaints involved delay of service delivery, mishandling of tenders and contracts, embezzlement, bribery and extortion. Most complaints were against district administrations (20%), followed by individual public officials (13%) and the Police (8%). In terms of districts, Kampala topped the list with 149 complaints, followed by Masaka (40), Kabarole (32), Jinja and Kabale — both 24. In the period under review, the IGG arrested a total of 18 public officials after investigations revealed that they were corrupt. Most of them were arrested for abuse of office and causing financial loss. The IGG’s mandate aside, the Government has also put in place an institutional framework to fight corruption in the presidency, Parliament, Judiciary, the Directorate of Public Prosecutions, Criminal Investigations Department (CID) and the Auditor General. The empowerment of the district Public Accounts Committee, the Parliamentary Public Accounts’ Committee (PAC), currently chaired by Nandala Mafabi (MP Budadiri), has also played a critical role, especially in probing misuse of NAADS and CHOGM funds. There is the Parliamentary Local Government’s Accounts committee that checks accountability of local governments. The anti-corruption squad and courts are also in place. There has also been the enactment of the Whistle Blowers’ Bill aimed at safeguarding the rights of people who have leads on corrupt officials.   Challenges While suspects have been pinned down and prosecuted, bail, a constitutional right, has presented challenges to fighting corruption. Consequently, culprits walk out of prison almost as soon as they are arrested once courts grant them bail. For example, Jim Muhwezi, the former health minister, charged with abuse of $1.6b Global Fund, was out on bail barely a week after his arrest. His former junior ministers, Mike Mukula and Alex Kamugisha alongside Alice Kaboyo, a State House aide, are also out on bail. To counter this, the Government plans to amend the law so that people suspected of corruption cannot be released on bail until their cases are disposed of. “They (corrupt officials) should be on remand for a mandatory period of 180 days so that at the end of this period, somebody is convicted,” says President Yoweri Museveni. Impunity is still a big problem as top shots in the Government still get unwavering protection, with some escaping prosecution. There is also limited funding and empowerment of institutions like the IGG’s office, CID, judiciary and Auditor General’s offices, to fully check corruption. By and large, the NRM’s desire is to fight corruption if these challenges can be overcome.