Some 80 per cent of Ugandans believe that corruption is heavily entrenched in society, and one person in every four citizens thinks that government is poor at fighting this vice.
Only 10 per cent believe that Uganda is effective in the anti-corruption battle. These figures are taken from the Inspectorate of Government’s fourth annual report, titled: ‘Tracking Corruption Trends in Uganda: Using the Data-Tracking Mechanism’. The Uganda Police Force is perceived as the most corrupt public institution, with two out of every three Ugandans asserting that police officers are corrupt.
Officials of the Judiciary are not spared either, because 37 per cent of us think that judges, magistrates and their support staff are corrupt. Thanks to revelations in the ‘Kazinda-gate OPM’ scandal, we all now know about grand corruption.
About Shs 58bn was misappropriated in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM)! The report concedes that grand corruption has increased. Other bad examples include Shs 205bn lost under the national identity cards scam, Shs 165bn in the ministry of Public Service, and Shs 5bn meant for bicycles; also, recently, Shs 24bn was paid out to a fictitious road construction company!
‘Absenteeism’ in the Education and Health sectors is described as quiet corruption. A third of health workers are missing from work everyday and this is possibly because they have more than one job. Absenteeism is greater at government schools where only 40 per cent of teachers were found in class teaching. Strangely, 29 per cent were in school but missed lessons. Children in northern Uganda are worse off because their teachers are absent the most!
Whilst the Uganda Police and Judiciary are perceived to be the most corrupt, followed by fraud and bribery including during elections, statistics show that district administrations, public officials and municipal and town councils are complained about the most. Surprising, indeed!
It is generally agreed that Uganda’s anti-corruption legislation is superb. Investigations and prosecutions have increased and substantial amounts of public funds have been recovered. However, more has to be done. The Leadership Code needs to be reinforced by instituting a tribunal to enable effective investigation of breaches. Greater skills, technology and funding are required to ensure the legal framework is implemented. And there is need to tackle corruption in police and the Judiciary to improve their image.
But it is not all doom and gloom @Ug.PLC. There are some ‘corruption-free’ places. My club, the Rotary club of Kampala North, together with the Rotary club of Greenfield in Indiana USA, is hosting a Vocational Training Team (VTT) starting this week. The team of 15, which includes doctors, nurses and other medical staff from Riley hospital (Indiana), will spend a week at the Uganda Heart Institute,treating children with heart defects.
The VTT plans to provide direct care for about 10 children. In addition, up to 40 physicians, nurses and support staff will benefit from the training. All the American team members have donated their holiday time for this trip. The total cost of this year’s VTT is just over $44,000 (Shs 114m). Kampala North has contributed $4,000 (Shs 10.4m), our Rotary district (made up of Uganda and Tanzania) offered $6,000 (Shs 15.6m) and the rest is from the US partner club and Rotary International.
Last year’s trip cost $71,000 (Shs 184.6m) and Kampala North contributed $7,000 (Shs 18.2m). Every penny goes towards the treatment of the children. There was a balance of $260 (Shs 676,000) from last year and permission had to be sought to purchase syringes and other small items using this money. Forty children were treated last year, even though 20 had been expected.
The IGG’s report estimates the cost of bribery alone to be Shs 166bn per year, and that the average bribe paid is about Shs 127,000. Frightening figures! It is argued in the report that Shs 166bn can provide four years’ supply of ‘mama kits’ for pregnant women – that would be over 11 million kits at Shs 15,000 each!
Now think of Cote d’Ivoire that launched a successful programme to combat the country’s high rates of maternal and infant mortality by opening ‘Schools for Husbands’. There are 27 now, with a further 25 planned. Basically, it is all about educating men to turn them into ‘model husbands’ who can then teach other men about maternal health, contraceptives and smaller families.
Al Jazeera International’s Lisa Armstrong reports about a one Kofi from N’Dakro village explaining what it took to be persuaded: “Initially, I did not want my wife to take birth-control pills, even though … it would help her to rest and recover before having another child. But when I saw Yao’s wife and she was beautiful and healthy, I was convinced!”
Perhaps we need special courses to understand the real cost of corruption.