Government to spend Shs117b on fighting corruption

Kampala. Government plans to spend a total of Shs117.7 billion to implement the new zero tolerance to corruption policy approved by Cabinet on Monday.
The Minister of Ethics and Integrity, Fr Simon Lokodo, told Daily Monitor in an interview yesterday that his ministry came up with the figure, noting that the funds will be used to effectively fight corruption and inculcate into Ugandans a culture of integrity, accountability and patriotism.

Funds released
Fr Lokodo said some of the funds have already been disbursed.
“We studied the budgets of all the implementing agencies involved in the fight against corruption and realised that much of the money has been released. We are now left with a deficit of about Shs11b to have the policy working,” he said.
Fr Lokodo said the European Union has so far given government Shs 3.1b to establish the Leadership Code tribunal.
He said the tribunal should have been established shortly after the amendment of the Leadership Code Act last year, but did not take off because of lack of funds.
“We hope the Ministry of Finance will release the Shs3.7b which we had requested earlier for operational costs,” the minister said.
The Leadership Code Amendment Bill, 2017, provides for the establishment of a leadership Code Tribunal to handle all issues related to failures to comply with the code.
When contacted for a comment, the Finance minister, Mr Matia Kasaija, said: “Daily Monitor, I am not talking to you,” before switching off his phone. The executive director of Uganda Media Centre, Mr Ofwono Opondo, said the policy will renew government’s commitment to fight corruption through strengthening coordination among stakeholders and effectively implement anti-corruption measures.

Three tier approach to fight corruption

The new policy places the different government agencies charged with fighting corruption in three different tiers, each with a different role to play.
Tier one: This comprises core anti-corruption institutions. They include the IGG and police, among others, which are mandated to promote and enhance transparency and accountability in the delivery of public services and combat corruption.

These bodies will create a conducive environment to protect people from errant public and private officials. The agencies will also undertake investigation, prosecution and punishment in the anti-corruption processes.
Tier two: These are institutions charged with oversight and accountability roles: They include the Ministry of Finance, and Public Service, which are responsible for setting up of management and accountability standards. Others are service commissions, Local Government and Parliament, among others.
Tier three: Under this category, institutions include all the other MDAs which should embrace the anti-corruption fight from a preventive perspective.