The Inspector General of Government, Justice Irene Mulyagonja, has said corruption has become more sophisticated today than ever before because of the digital revolution. Corruption, she added, had been evolving and the automation and modernization of government systems had made it more complex and highly syndicated.
Earlier on the People Power spear heading Master Bobi Wine said the fight cannot be won because Museveni himself and his family are spearheading corruption as well as hiding those to be prosecuted sighting the case of Sam Kuteesa who was implicated the embezzlement of $500,000 and yet Museveni defended him saying the money was intended for Charity Organisations
However, the ombudsman said the Inspectorate of Government,the Office of the Auditor General and the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority had formed “a syndicate” to deal with the complex nature of syndicated corruption.
She added that a lot of money was being lost in procurement fraud through sophisticated corruption aided by automation of processes in Government.
“This collaboration has yielded fruits in the fight against corruption. This is through timely sharing of information and expertise, which has led to the prosecution of some of the high-profile cases at authentication Court,” Mulyagonja said.
This was during the commemoration of the International Anti-Corruption Day at Kololo Independence Grounds yesterday. Some of the successes the anti-corruption agencies have recorded in the recent past, the IGG said, include audit recommendations to over 2,000 public institutions for action, value for money audits, cost recovery audits in the oil and gas sector,IT audits in various government institutions, prosecution of 161 corruption cases and recovery of over sh1.1b through confiscation and compensation orders.
Others include 964 procurement and disposal audits involving over 30,000 public contracts and projects, blacklisting 243 errant contractors from participating in public procurement and disposal proceedings due to submission of forged documents and fraudulent actions, conducted 639 investigations, registered 11,739 providers for works, services and supplies —as an important step in promoting a sound private business environment.
“The inspectorate, in collaboration with civil society organisations, trained 65,000 citizens to monitor implementation of government projects and report corruption and mismanagement of resources and projects in real time in 55 districts in northern and eastern Uganda,” Mulyagonja said.
The Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA), she said,forwarded 16 cases of money laundering for investigations and possible prosecution to the IGG. The Directorate of Public Prosecutions, Mulyagonja added, prosecuted two cases forwarded by FIA.
The day was marked under the theme Citizen’s participation in the fight against corruption: A sustainable path to Uganda’s transformation.The IGG appealed to the public to continue reporting corruption and demanding accountability from leaders and civil servants.
“We also call upon all Ugandans to effectively demand the delivery of public services from leaders in their communities,” the IGG said