President Yoweri Museveni has just appointed the new Inspector General of Government (IGG) Justice Naluzze Aisha Batala, replacing Beti Olive Namisango Kamya. The appointment of the new Ombudsman has heightened speculation and debate about the fight against corruption and impunity in the public service. Beti Kamya has done her part in fostering sanity and accountability in government service by being outspoken on graft, and coming up with anti-graft mechanisms including the Lifestyle Audit for government officials. However, as she pressed the anti-corruption button, corruption seemed to fight back with vengeance. In the end, she proved a toothless dog.
We applaud President Museveni in his avowal to stamp out corruption. In his next government, the President should come hard against corruption; the laws should be amended to make it riskier for thieves of government resources to plunge their gluttonous bellies in the public purse. Where need be, the thieves should face death sentence, or life imprisonment, with confiscation of ill-gotten wealth at whatever cost. Even in death, the law should follow the corrupt and recover whatever they have tucked from the government coffers. General Museveni should borrow a leaf from China. We would hear about countless cases of corrupt officials being sentenced to death in China over graft. Similar case with Singapore under the reign of Lew Kuan Yew. Lee Kuan Yew proved a ruthless leader who didn’t only abhor corruption in his country, but also ensured that none of the corrupt got away with it. A story is told of a minister in Kuan Yew’s regime who committed suicide when news reached the ears of the prime minister about the misappropriation of money for procuring generators by the said minister. That is how Singapore progressed from a third world to first world country in 30 years.
We have got elaborate mechanisms geared at fighting corruption: the IGG, CID, Auditor General, PAC, State House Anti-corruption Unit, Directorate of Ethics and Integrity, DPP, etc. But the question still remains: with all these anti-corruption measures, why is the vice of corruption showing no sign of ending? We see that whoever gets opportunity to land in a government office, the first thing they would do is figure out what to steal. This is the absurd situation we find ourselves in as a country.
As we consolidate our gains as the People’s Revolution, we should bear in mind that corruption has now become the greatest enemy against our progress. The revelations by the IGG to the effect that Uganda loses about Shs10 trillion a year to official corruption is mindboggling. Meaning that if the trend continues unabated, the country would lose about Shs100 trillion in a space of 10 years?! Think of what this astronomical amount of money would do in a country like Uganda.
General Museveni should give Ugandans a gift in his new kisanja of handling the thieves with ruthless hands; where possible, send them to jail as a deterrent to the would-be looters of public resources.
That said, the fight against corruption can’t be left only to President Museveni. It’s everybody’s responsibility to rise up and demand accountability from the leaders and public servants. The thieves originate from our families and communities. They are among us in churches, mosques, village meetings, bars, etc. Let’s look straight into their eyes and shame them. We shouldn’t keep quiet as the thieves are stealing our future and the future of our children.
