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TRY THEM: Tumwesigye |
By Peter Nyanzi
District administrators have now overtaken
the Police as the most corrupt.
School headteachers come next,
followed by the Ministry of Public Service and the Lands Office.
Others among the top 10 institutions against which most complaints
have been made are NGOs, private companies, town councils, the
Administrator General and the Kampala City Council.
In his report
to Parliament dated August 1, 2003, and copied to President Yoweri
Museveni, the Inspector General of Government (IGG) called for dismissal
and prosecution of those who embezzled public funds.
The report,
which reviews the period July - December 2002, said complaints against the
Police increased dramatically from 70 in the previous period to 201,
accounting for 10.3% of the total received by the IGG.
The report
said local government tender boards are prone to abuse.
�Politicians and councillors have been appointing their friends,
relatives, campaign managers or other types of cronies either as a favour
or as a plan to use them to further their interests,� it said.
The
report said headteachers of primary and secondary schools ranked third
among the institutions most complained about with 171 complaints which
ranged from mismanagement of resources for the Universal Primary Education
programme, abuse of office, existence of �ghost� teachers and non-payment
of salaries. �The problems identified with headteachers directly emanate
from poor supervision and monitoring of schools by the inspectors of
schools,� it said.
�The IGG recommends strict adherence in respect
of regulations and laws and stepping up monitoring and inspections in
schools by the Ministry of Education and severe punishment on those who
flout procedures,� the report added.
The report said presidential
advisers scored least in declaring their assets, with only 29 out of 35
(83%) doing so. The report said the IGG would physically verify all the
declarations submitted and take action against non compliance.
The
report said out of 16,000 leaders who were issued with forms, 83%
submitted declarations.
The president, vice-president, the prime
minister, ministers, permanent secretaries, judges, MPs and Movement
Secretariat directors reportedly declared their wealth. The report did not
name those who are yet to comply.
�While the Government has
increased the Police salary, and improved their living conditions, it is
not enough. It is therefore recommended that the living wage and living
conditions for the Police be improved more and the public continue to be
encouraged to report corruption in the Police Force,� it said.
It
said the IGG received 1,967 complaints compared to 1,501 in the previous
period, or a 31% rise.
They involved mismanagement and
misappropriation of public funds, non-payment of salaries and abuse of
office, victimisation, forgery, bribery, extortion, delay of service
delivery, tenders/contracts and embezzlement.
The report said
Kampala tops the corruption list followed by Mbarara.
Gulu got the
least number of complaints.
Ends
Published on: Tuesday, 16th September,
2003 |
