We should be ashamed of corruption ranking

So, what are countries like Rwanda and Tanzania doing about corruption that Uganda cannot do, despite several bodies formed to tackle graft? While institutions like the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee, the Inspectorate of Government, the Auditor General, civil society organisations and the Anti-Corruption Court are seemingly doing their best, corruption is getting out of control.

It is disgraceful that with all these efforts, the list of reports incriminating this government for not doing enough to fight corruption keeps growing. We have had several highly publicised scandals but expectations that action would be taken against the thieves have always ended in disappointment. In the Chogm scandal alone, estimates put the figure stolen at Shs500 billion (the same amount the country loses to corruption annually, according the World Bank) and as has become the norm, the suspects may never have their day in court.

This is why Ugandans have become very cynical about the government’s commitment to fight corruption. There are concerns that patronage plays a key role in determining who gets prosecuted. This has complicated efforts to rid this country of corruption because the very society whose input is vital in fighting corruption has become indifferent.

The proverbial ‘big fish’ have their tentacles spread like a cobweb. They are untouchable! Corruption has, as a result, become an inescapable reality in every sector, slowing development and crippling social services.

To sanitise this society, the government must move away from lip service to rigorous enforcement of anti-corruption laws. To build a society on the principles of honesty, transparency and integrity, there must be commitment from every Ugandan to fight corruption. And we expect the government to lead by example. As Justice John Bosco Katutsi recently lamented, the anti-Corruption court was not formed to try only “tilapias when crocodiles are swimming”. Ugandans want to see the crocodiles in court.