The Inspectorate of Government (IG) offices in Kampala were a beehive of activity yesterday as public servants submitted wealth declaration forms in a bid to beat the March 31 deadline.

About 25,000 public servants holding public offices are by law required to declare their wealth every after two years to the ombudsman as per the Leadership Code Act.

The IG office, however, indicated yesterday that some leaders are defiant due to the delayed establishment of the Leadership Code Tribunal by Parliament, which has rendered cracking of the whip hard.

Inspector General of Government spokesperson Ali Munira told Daily Monitor yesterday that so far, they have registered 70 per cent compliance, from when the first call was made two years ago. “We are yet to tally the figures from our regional offices across the country. So it is too early to establish the number of the forms submitted,” Ms Munira said.

She, however, said another month’s extension could be granted to ensure total compliance. The 2002 Leadership Code Act prohibits conduct that is likely to compromise the honesty, impartiality and integrity of leaders or conduct that is likely to compromise leaders to corruption in public affairs.

Some public servants this newspaper talked to on condition of anonymity, however, expressed dissatisfaction, saying declaring wealth, as the law claims, does not help to fight corruption. Others said it was “a waste of time.”

THE BACKGROUND

In the IGG’s report to Parliament for the period January to June 2014, about 1,049 leaders have returned their declaration forms. During the same period, about 1,167 were issued with warning letters to which 1,089 responded and complied. Ms Munira, however said the biggest setback is “the delayed amendment of the Act continues to hinder the enforcement of this law.”