The IGG’s ‘ballistic missile’ on the corrupt

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OPINION

By Faruk Kirunda

Uganda’s struggle against corruption continues to evolve, but with no clear end in sight as to when the vice could be eradicated or suppressed to the bare minimum as it is in Denmark, Finland, Singapore and New Zealand. These countries are consistently ranked as the least corrupt globally.

I, for one, believe that Uganda has made significant steps in fighting graft. Much of the classification among countries riddled with corruption is because of greater transparency in reporting cases and the freedom of the public to discuss anything, including cases still under investigation and in court. In other countries, information on corruption cases is tightly controlled to protect the integrity of the state.

Above all, political will is guaranteed under President Yoweri Museveni’s stance of: “Zero tolerance to corruption”. Anybody who doubts this and takes it as political rhetoric can go on and engage in corruption. We shall see what happens when the net falls.

Among the innovations that will give a boost to the fight against corruption is the approach by the new Inspector General of Government (IGG), Justice Aisha Naluzze Batala, of exposing the corrupt and publishing their names for ease of reference for all concerned — and that is about the entire population of Uganda that bears the brunt of corruption. The method is logical, if not “magical”! It is an anticorruption “ballistic missile”!

Uganda has come a long way in fighting corruption, but it is not yet uhuru. Dictatorship was fought and defeated, illiteracy was fought and defeated, HIV/AIDS was fought and beaten back, and different rebellious and terrorist groups have been fought and defeated, but the corruption serpent continues rearing its head. The corrupt are not stronger than the rest of Ugandans. The problem has to do with the methods applied. Progressively, we need new and more revolutionary methods that impose a heavy cost on the corrupt to make them think thrice or totally “lose appetite” for the vice, as President Museveni would put it. The “lifestyle audit” of former IGG Beti Kamya, and the President’s “performance audit”, among other methods, have brought results, but corruption mutates like a virus.

But the basic fact remains that corruption is an act of ingratitude and great arrogance for a government worker, remunerated by the taxpayer, to steal what should be used to render services to the taxpayer. It is a great betrayal, which is treated as treason in certain countries such as China.

Whilst some of the corrupt are possessed by a sense of entitlement, others are lured by the idea that they can get away with their crime. I cannot guarantee that in today’s Uganda, where everybody has access to various sources of news and information. The detection mechanism for corruption is at its most potent ever, with different agencies co-ordinating to pinpoint and take action on cases.

Apart from the IGG’s office, which is the lead agency, there is the State House Anti-Corruption Unit (SHACU), the Criminal Investigation Department, Internal Security Organisation, Parliament’s oversight committees, the Auditor General’s office, the resident district commissioners’ office, and a keen public that will raise dust at the slightest suspicion.

People are exposed on mere suspicion — which sometimes hurts the innocent, but is a price to pay for a corruption free nation. What of those confirmed to have stolen government funds or occasioned financial loss on the taxpayer? Those ones deserve the spotlight. Ugandans are tired of impunity. Let all those proven to be corrupt wear the crown of shame via the public glare. Everyone, including their children and spouses, will see them for what they are. We cannot continue lamenting about corruption forever.

I know well that criminals do not like the public spotlight. That is why they strive to bribe their way out of being publicised, yet when they are conspiring in their crime, they act in secret. Why do they try to co-opt the media at the time of reckoning to shield their ‘eating’?

I call on media professionals to shun advances from such tainted individuals. They are a danger to one’s life and career. In their desperation and moral quagmire, they can attempt to go down with others. On various occasions, I have intervened to safeguard journalists who are intimidated after refusing to co-operate with corrupt figures. Courage, comrades-in-the-struggle!

Imagine what the IGG’s and SHACU teams have to withstand on their side! But when all agencies are co-ordinated and speaking the same language of “no compromise”, the cornered champions of graft cannot win.

Previously, when corrupt people were arrested, tried, and sentenced — and, on the side, forced to pay back what they stole or forfeit illegally gotten wealth — they retained an image of integrity because processes were not so much in the public domain. But now, if the IGG causes them to be published widely, they incur double jeopardy. They do not only lose their jobs and what they have stolen, but they cannot get jobs elsewhere because their integrity is in tatters. Some would go abroad and work there, but when information is all over the web, nobody will hire them. This should send shock waves through those who may have harboured intentions to act corruptly. Additionally, it should prompt some who may have already made mistakes to willingly confess, pay back, and get cleared.

The age of the corrupt under-declaring the value of ill-gotten wealth to escape scrutiny is also ending, since the public can easily contribute facts.

Apart from co-opting the media in highlighting real faces engaged in corruption, barazas (community gatherings) are another platform where “bad apples” can be identified and exposed for their own people to see. The approach is equally apt at this time of implementing the Parish Development Model (PDM). It is a good way to audit the initiative publicly and show who is trying to cause it to fail by stealing money from poor beneficiaries. When they are publicly shamed, it sends a clear signal to others that stealing PDM money can damage one’s name forever.

If the campaign of exposing these unpatriotic and ‘treasonous’ persons is supported adequately, in five years’ time we shall have made great strides in rolling back public sector corruption and reaping benefits in terms of better service delivery.

The author is the special presidential assistant for press and mobilisation, and also deputy presidential spokesperson Email: faruk.kirunda@statehouse.go.ug