President Yoweri Museveni must crack the whip from top to bottom if he is to end corruption in Uganda. This is according to Cissy Kagaba an Anti-corruption activist, as the president prepares to speak about the vice today.
According to Kagaba, the president should not start the fight from small cadres who hold lower offices, but ministers and other public servants in higher offices especially ministers.
This is also comes at a time when the president and his foreign affairs minister Sam Kahamba Kutesa are accused of accepting a bribe from a Chinese businessman Mr. Ho. The dual allegedly pocketed $500,000. Many Ugandans expect him to act on this especially against his friend and in-law Kutesa if he indeed is determined to stop corruption in the country.
Lydia Wanyoto the chairperson NRM women league says those implicated in corruption scandals should step down. “If you are implicated in a scandal, resign. If you are found innocent, then you can be re-instated” she says.
Ms. Kagaba supported the proposal that such ministers should step aside and let investigations take place. “It has to be serious by us seeing people step down. We want to see heads roll, we want to see political responsibility. I think that would be a new way and people will start trusting the government” she argues.
The activist says fixing everything militarily could also work, but this is not necessarily true, as there are still many questions surrounding the NAADS projects, including accountability.
The president will be chief guest at the commemoration of the International anti-corruption day this afternoon. The event will be televised and broadcast on all major TV and Radio stations across the country.
This is meant to ensure that all Ugandans receive his message about the vice that is biting hard into the economy and causing the country to lose trillions of shillings.
The president is expected to officially commission the new state house Anti-corruption unit offices at the president’s office before proceeding to Kololo for the main celebrations. The office will have a call centre where Ugandans can whistle blow and complain against corrupt officials.
Hon. Wanyoto says Parliament and the IGG should be engaged to do more against corruption so as to avoid signing postmortem reports of mothers dying while giving birth as some civil servant enjoys the money meant to build them better healthcare services.