CSOs call for the urgent appointment of IGG

IGG|CORRUPTION|ACCOUNTABILITY

KAMPALA - Since the expiry of Justice Irene Mulyagonja's term as the Inspector General of Government (IGG), the position remains vacant. Her term ended on July 5, 2020.

According to the Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), the lack of a substantial IGG is greatly affecting investigations into corruption cases in the country.

The ActionAid International Uganda  (AAIU) Country Director, Xavier Ejoyi says the lack of a substantial IGG greatly affects issues of accountability.

He called on President Yoweri Museveni to urgently fill the position to avoid creating a vacuum for the perpetrators of corruption.

"With the absence of an IGG, it affects the fight against corruption. We need the IGG to spearhead this fight and hold the duty bearers accountable. Some of these cases need to be handled urgently," he added.

He made the remarks during a zoom interface meeting between Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and the national accountability Ministry Departments and Agencies (MDAs) on transparency, accountability gaps, and anti-corruption complaints from accountability champions.

The event was organized by AAIU with support from the Democratic Governance Facility (DGF).

Ejoyi urged all Ugandans to come on board towards the fight against corruption, saying CSOs and the Government cannot do it alone.

According to the Global Financial Integrity, a Washington, D.C.based non-profit organisation 2018 study, Uganda loses at least $1bn annually in related corruption, tax evasion, and money laundering.

Gerald Gwaira, the Manager Advocacy and Capacity building from the IG, said their hands remain tangled because without the IGG, the office cannot institute new investigations into corruption cases.

 "Much of the work has come to a standstill. We cannot initiate new charges or institute new investigations apart from continuing with those already in the system," he noted.

Gwaira said depending on the circumstances, they work with the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) to help with some of the cases. The project Advocacy Officer Governance and Social Accountability AAIU, Joy Namunoga said there is a need to increase the resilience of citizens to demand accountability from their local leaders.

"When citizens are empowered to demand  accountability from the duty bearers in their localities, it can drastically reduce corruption and improve service delivery," he said.

Maxwell Ongetho, from the Auditor General's (AG) office called on all Ugandans and CSOs to always push for the implementation of the various recommendations by AG's office.

He said the poor follow up on the AG's reports has led to slow implementation of the recommendations in various sectors, thus opening the way to continued corruption tendencies and poor service delivery.

Ongetho added that failure to implement the recommendations of the AG's office is like ‘preparing nice food and it is not eaten by anyone'.

He also disclosed that the AG's office is working on a Mobile Application through which the public will easily interact with their office (AG).