The Parliamentary Commissioner, Hon. Esther Afoyochan has on behalf of the Speaker, Anita Among received bi-annual reports of the Inspectorate of Government (IG).
The reports cover the period, January-June 2022, July-December 2022 and January-June 2023.
This is in fulfillment of Article 231 (1) of the Constitution which mandates the IGG to submit to Parliament at least once every six months, a report on the performance of its functions and make recommendations for the efficient performance of public institutions.
Afoyochan, who is also Zombo District Woman Representative received the reports from the IGG, Beti Kamya at a function that took place on Wednesday, 20 September 2023.
In her remarks delivered by Afoyochan, the Speaker commended the IGG for the timely submission of reports.
“Reports of this nature are integral for effective legislative oversight as they contain vital information on the operational performance and financial status of the entities under the purview of the various parliamentary committees,” she said.
She added, “The effectiveness of legislative oversight is directly proportional to the quantum and appropriateness of available information.”
The Speaker also commended the 11th Parliament for being steadfast in ensuring the timely consideration of annual and bi-annual reports from the various public sector entities.
Pursuant to Article 231 (3) of the 1995 Constitution, the Speaker will cause the reports to be laid in the House at the very next Sitting of the House after the current recess.
Thereafter, the reports will be referred to the Parliamentary Committee on Legal and Parliamentary Affairs for scrutiny.
Kamya said the inspectorate is geared towards mobilising and empowering citizens to create a positive mindset in the fight against corruption.
She said the inspectorate will continue to up efforts in monitoring and inspecting projects, investigating, prosecuting, and recovering proceeds of corruption.
This, she said, will be efficiently achieved through the digitalization of their monitoring, reporting and investigation systems.
“The IGG management has taken a bold decision to embrace digitalization. We are on a steady course of migration from analog to digitalization in the fight against corruption and we hope, in the next two years, the IGG will be about 90 per cent digitized,” Kamya said.
In the last three reporting periods, the IGG has registered a total of 3,504 complaints and concluded 1,528 corruption investigations, leading to a recovery of Shs7.99 billion out of the recommended Shs38.7 billion.
The IGG also prosecuted a total of 92 people, with 43 convictions.
The inspectorate attributed the declining number of investigations into corruption to restructuring processes and internal transfer of staff who were learning new roles.
However, the increase in recoveries was attributed to the emphasis on recovery of stolen assets and establishment of the IG Compliance Division which follows up on the implementation of the IG recommendations.