Presentation Outline� Definition of Corruption

� Brief on Uganda

� Possible Causes of Corruption in Uganda

� Laws in place to fight Corruption in Uganda

� Institutions in Place to fight Corruption in Uganda

� Challenges in the Fight against Corruption

� Recommendations

� Role of Parliament in fighting corruption

Corruption• The term corruption comes from the Latin word “corruptus” which means to

destroy. It is an abuse of power in decision making by manipulating facts in a given position.

• It involves more than one person, the giver and the recipient

• Both parties get their human attitude towards ethics, morality, tradition, law and civic virtues distorted and in so doing destroy their ethics and integrity and corrupt themselves and a system

• Whereas there is no single definition of corruption, it can be viewed as a behavior of persons, in which they improperly enrich themselves or those close to them by misusing power with which they have been entrusted.

• It can therefore be defined as abuse of public office for private gain

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� Corruption manifests itself as:

� bribery,

� financial leakages,

� conflict of interest,

� embezzlement,

� false accounting,

� fraud,

� influence peddling,

� nepotism,

� theft of public funds or

� theft of public assets.

Brief on Uganda� Uganda got her independence from the British in 1962 and had relative

stability until 1966

� Uganda is a democracy made up of 112 districts and over 52 ethnic groups

� There are 3 kingdoms and a number of cultural institutions, these traditionally received gifts from subjects in search of favours and appreciation; unfortunately this seems to have been transferred to public offices

� Uganda went through decades of political instability until 1986 when NRM took over government when democracy was restored

� Since 1986, Uganda has undertaken economic and political reforms to address the national crisis. These included:

� Privatization

� Public Service Reform

� Poverty Eradication Program

� And Constitution reviews among the many

� The socio-cultural make up of Uganda is characterised by extended family so the pressure is always on the working class to support the extended families

� Uganda suffers Five types of Corruption

� Bureaucratic corruption i.e. bribery and nepotism (2006 WB IFC enterprise survey showed that 80% of companies in Uganda reported making losses due to bribery of more than 30% unofficial payments),

� Political Corruption: includes corruption as a result of patronage i.e. giving jobs and or contracts to relatives or supporters,

� Procurement: Uganda loses approx 15.2 million dollars to corruption in procurement ( recent case of Bicycle Scandal) APRM Report 2007

� Corruption in Taxation: Despite the reform of this sector patronage & corruption still persists

� Corruption in Police: In Uganda the police is ranked to be one of the most corrupt institutions especially through bribery.

Possible Causes of Corruption in Uganda� Unemployment rates are so high, so the employed have a duty to

support their relatives. This partly breeds nepotism and tribalism in the public service leading to corruption

� Uganda is not a welfare state & society has extended family support which puts a working person under a lot of pressure

� The expulsion of Asians in 1972 handed Asian businesses and property to Ugandans who had not earned them. That ‘get rich quick’syndrome has been transferred from generation to generation

� Social pressures from families and society force people to indulge in corruption to meet societal expectations

� Lack of Transparency: little is known by the public on how government operates despite the Access to information Act, 2005 being in place

� Patronage: Some officials have ‘godfathers’ who support them hence ignore the law knowing they will get away with it.

� Job Insecurity: Public Officials are not certain of their future in public offices so they end up amassing ill-gotten wealth as a security (PS are no longer permanent but on 5 year contract)

� Poor Incentives : poor pay and poor working environment induces officers into corruption e.g. cases of some medical workers stealing and selling drugs

� Dysfunctional Systems :for quite some time Uganda experienced political upheavals which largely destroyed institutions, making it vulnerable for corruption.

� Greed: some people are obsessed with amassing wealth even when they already have a lot of it

Why fight Corruption in Uganda

� Corruption remains an impediment to development and a barrier to poverty reduction in Uganda (IGG, Report, 2011)

Laws in place to fight Corruption� The 1995 Constitution of Uganda Article 223 created the

office of the Inspectorate of Government and Article 224 spells out the functions of the inspectorate which include among others:

� to promote and foster strict adherence to the rule of law and principles of natural justice in administration;

� to eliminate and foster the elimination of corruption, abuse of authority and of public office;

� to promote fair, efficient and good governance in public offices;

� And to supervise the enforcement of the Leadership Code of Conduct.

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� Leadership Code Act 2002; provides for a minimum standard of behaviour and conduct for leaders; to require leaders to declare their incomes, assets and liabilities, those of their spouses and children under 18 years; to put in place an effective enforcement mechanism and to provide for other related matters.

� The Inspectorate of Government Act, 2002 (as amended) provides for the Inspectorate of Government in line with Chapter 13 of the Constitution and in particular to give effect to the provisions of that Chapter as required by articles 225, 226 and 232 of the 1995Constitution

� Access to Information Act,2005, enacted to enable the public demand for information from Government to enhance transparency

� The National Audit Act, 2008: Section 14 spells out the independence of Auditor General. Stating that subject to section 13(2), the Auditor General, in performing his or her functions under this Act, shall not be

under the direction or control of any person or authority.

� The Anti Corruption Act, 2009: provides for the effectual prevention of corruption in both the public and the private sector in Uganda. All anti-corruption laws were consolidated into this law

� The Whistleblowers Protection Act, 2010 , under disclosure of impropriety: Section 2 (1) provides that a person may make a disclosure of information where that person reasonably believes that the information tends to show (a) that a corrupt, criminal or other unlawful act has been committed, is being committed or is likely to be committed

� The Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act, 2003 (PPDA ) Section 6 sets out the objectives of the Public Procurement Authority in 6(a) to ensure the application of fair, competitive, transparent, non-discriminatory and value for money procurement and disposal standards and practices and 6(d) monitor compliance of procuring and disposing entities

� Uganda signed and ratified two anti corruption conventions, namely the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) and the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption (AUCPCC). Uganda signed both the UNCAC and AUCPCC on 12th December 2003. It ratified the UNCAC on 9th 9 2004 and the

Institutions in place to fight Corruption

� The Inspectorate of Government

� The Directorate of Public Prosecution

� The Criminal Investigation Directorate

� The Anti-Corruption Court established in 2008

� The Office of the Auditor General to audit all public accounts

� Directorate of Ethics and Integrity ( Office of the President)

� Parliament ( Accountability Committees)

� Civil Society ( anti corruption coalition Uganda)

� Media

� African Peer Review Mechanism

Challenges in the Fight against Corruption� Political Interference ( national and sub-national levels)

� Delay in the Judicial process due to case backlogs

� Lack of proper training for investigative agencies like the Police

� Understaffing in the enforcement agencies like IGG, CID, DPP

� Using the corrupt to fight corruption

�Where the giver and the taker are comfortable with the act so it is difficult to detect it

� Inadequate funding for anti- corruption agencies

� Collusion within government offices rendering key evidence on corruption investigations getting lost

� There is not enough protection for witnesses who give evidence so they fear to appear in court

� Technical officers lack capacity to investigate corruption e.g. cyber corruption

� Budget tracking is very complex so some MPs lack capacity to play their oversight role

� ‘Bureaucratic red tape’ helps corrupt officers extract more money from the public

� Policing of legislation: ensuring the law is implemented is a challenge

� Limited impact on unethical practices: ethical issues cannot be legislated

� Accountability: how do we make business entities to account for corruption within themselves

Recommendations� Operationalise the already established laws,

� A vibrant opposition that ensures that government accounts

� Free flow of public information, operationalise Access to Information Act, 2005

� Transparent procedures in procurement

� Directorate of Public Prosecution should be well staffed, independent and professional,

� Fully institute the Office of the Inspectorate of Government

� Strengthen the investigative & prosecution capacity of the anti-corruption agencies(Police & IGG) to handle the sophisticated cases of corruption i.e. Cyber Crime

� Strengthen the monitoring Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister

� Ensure that procurement in government is in line with the PPDA Act and associated regulations

� Provide more funding for the anti-corruption agencies

� Promote legislation that addresses areas which have a potential for corruption, through: adequate social security for every citizen; introducing public service pay structures which are not conducive to corruption; establishing speedy and transparent bureaucratic procedures; guaranteeing that all participate equitably in the decision-making process

� The public is educated and empowered to fight corruption

Role of Parliament in fighting corruption

� Law-making: Parliament of Uganda has enacted several pieces of legislations to this effect and these include: the IGG Act 2002, Leadership Code Act 2002, Anti- Corruption Act 2009 and Whistleblower Act 2010

� Appropriation – votes funds and monitors implementation of administrative and public finance management reforms, access to information, policy making reforms, this is done mainly through sessional Committees

� Oversight and financial control – ex-ante and ex-post scrutiny of budget ex budget, cooperation with Auditor General’s Office and media) . PAC, COSASE, LGAC, Government Assurance committee oversee government (opposition chairs accountability committees)

� Representation :ethics and codes of conduct, asset declaration and coalition with civil society on public

� Accountability committees have handled backlog of Auditor General’s report with the help of the Financial Management and Accountability Program (FINMAP). It has facilitated the review of most of the audited accounts by Auditor General

� Since 2008 PAC made notable progress in reviewing and adopting central government Audit reports from 2001/2 to 2006/7

� The LGAC has similarly reduced backlog of the Audit report on Local Government accounts in the districts

� Parliamentary Committees monitor government ministries, departments and agencies all year round and cause them to account for the funds appropriated each fiscal year.

� Parliament is mandated to vet key appointments in public offices including Ministers

Working of Public Accounts Committee� Looking out for unaccounted for funds

� Delays in accounting for funds expended in each fiscal year

� Loses of public funds ( through- compensations, corruption)

� Value for money

� Nugatory expenditure

� Non-Adherence to Procurement guidelines

� Excess expenditure without authority ( Secretary to Treasury and Office Auditor General)

� Non-remmittance of taxes to Uganda Revenue Authority)

Conclusion� Uganda has all the requisite laws and institutions in

place. The challenge comes in enforcement of the laws

� Fighting corruption is a concerted effort of the Executive, Legislature, Judiciary, Media and Civil Society. All these need to have a common objective and zeal.

� There are positive outcomes of anti- corruption struggle in Uganda; 64 public officers were charged in 2011, 3 ministers were charged 2006 and are under prosecution and in March 2012 3 ministers had to resign over corruption.

ALLUTTA

CONTINUA

THANK YOU

Bibliography� Uganda the republic of (1995) Constitution of Uganda, Uganda Printing and

Publishing, Entebbe

� Uganda the republic of (2003) Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act, Uganda Printing and Publishing, Entebbe

� Uganda the republic of (2009) Anti- Corruption Act, Uganda Printing and Publishing, Entebbe

� Uganda the republic of (2010) Whistleblowers Protection Act, Uganda Printing and Publishing, Entebbe

� Uganda the republic of (2002) Leadership Code Act, Uganda Printing and Publishing, Entebbe

� Uganda the republic of (2002) The Inspectorate of Government Act, Uganda Printing and Publishing, Entebbe

� Uganda the republic of (2005) Access to Information Act, Uganda Printing and Publishing, Entebbe

� Uganda the republic of (2008) The National Audit Act, Uganda Printing and Publishing, Entebbe

� Uganda the republic of (2002) Annual Report of the Auditor General to Parliament (Central Government), office of the Auditor General, Kampala

� Uganda the republic of (2011) Inspectorate of Government Report to ParliamentJuly – December 2011, Office of the IGG, Kampala