Cultural norms fuelling corruption-Mulyagonja

CULTURE|CORRUPTION                                          

Inspector General of Government (IGG) Justice Irene Mulyagonja has decried deep-held cultural norms holding back the fight against corruption in Uganda.

 "We have a culture where we believe that if a person goes into a public office, whether they are a member of your family or a friend, they have an obligation to deliver to you what you need from that public office," she said.

Speaking on Thursday at 10^th East African Procurement Forum in Kampala hosted by the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA), the IGG recounted her own personal experience.

"Sometimes it becomes very embarrassing. I was once attending a funeral of an aunt, and this priest had the audacity to stand on the podium and say ‘Madam IGG, you are in that office, (but) the Basoga have no jobs. Why are you not giving jobs to the Basoga?...Do not be surprised when we are happy to hear that you have been removed from that office because you are not giving jobs to our children," she said.

Mulyagonja made the remarks while making a presentation on leveraging technology and collaborating in the fight against corruption in public procurement.

 "You have tens of telephone calls coming to you, to see that you give the job to their sons or daughters," she said.

Kenya's Public Procurement Oversight Authority, the Rwanda Public Procurement Authority (RPPA) and Tanzania's Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) are attending the forum.

The three day forum ended Friday, with stakeholders adopting resolutions that will be taken back to be implemented in member states.