Uganda hosts Commonwealth anti-corruption conference

The Inspector General of Government, Justice Irene Mulyagonja. FILE PHOTO

What you need to know:

  • CAACC is a non -profit organization that was established in February 2013. Its members are the eighteen Anti-Corruption Agencies in Commonwealth Africa.

The Inspectorate of Government will tomorrow (Sunday) host the 9th Commonwealth Africa Anti- Corruption Centre (CAACC) or the Centre as it is commonly known.
The Inspector General of Government, Justice Irene Mulyagonja on Thursday announced that the Anti-corruption chiefs will convene in Kampala from 6th – 11th May 2019 to discuss ways of dealing with corruption, one of the major problems facing governments around the globe.

The conference under the theme: “Time to Act: Prevent Corruption for sustainable Development” is expected to attract over 40 participants from the Anti-Corruption Agencies from Commonwealth Countries in Africa. President Museveni will be the chief guest at the opening of the conference at Lake Victoria Serena Gold Resort and Spa in Kigo.
“We hope that the sharing of experiences across African institutions that are charged with fighting corruption will enhance the process of the IG through learning from the successes of others in this complicated field,” Ms Mulyagonja said. She was addressing a news conference in Kampala.

During the State-of-the-Nation Address in June last year, President Museveni questioned the effectiveness of the IGG and her officers in fighting corruption. He announced an alternative unit under his office which will fight corruption in the country. The Unit is headed by Lt Col Edith Nakalema. The same unit is also investigating Ms Mulyagonja’s team on accusations of abuse of office.

A group of unidentified IGG staff members petitioned the statehouse anticorruption unit to investigate corruption claims at IGG. In their petition received on March 20, the whistleblowers cited a raft of irregularities ranging from illegal recruitments, failure to confirm existing acting staff to their positions to outright corruption, noting that “the environment here at the Inspectorate of Government prohibits any staff from addressing their grievances with the system.”

CAACC is a non -profit organization that was established in February 2013. Its members are the eighteen Anti-Corruption Agencies in Commonwealth Africa. Justice Mulyagonja is the current Vice President of the association, while Mustapha Ibrahim Magu, Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Nigeria is the Chairperson.
The Centre is a prime vehicle for improving coordination between and strengthening the capacity of anti-corruption agencies in Commonwealth Africa. It does this through its functions of research, training and development and communications and political affairs.