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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 |
