Without attitude change, fight against corruption is just a show- Oulanyah

Unless Ugandans take the fight against corruption from their own frontline, all efforts to eliminate it will remain just a public show, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament Jacob Oulanyah has said.

Mr Oulanyah was speaking at the anti-corruption event aimed at intensifying efforts against corruption which has cost the country billions of shillings. The event at Kololo Independence Grounds was preceded by an anti-corruption walk led by President Museveni, from the city centre.

In a place filled with top government officials, Oulanyah said that Ugandans are all guilty of abetting corruption, and called for internal reflection from everyone in order to stem corruption out of the country. Amidst cheers from the crowd, Oulanyah said it was time to stop the pretence and stop being corrupt.

According to Mr Oulanyah, the pretence and showbiz in the country is so much that everyone talks about corruption without identifying it.

“We all are guilty as charged. Let anybody challenge me Mr President. Unless we take this from our own frontlines and extend the frontier to cover other areas, it's a waste of time and a public show for nothing. I come because it's a public show but deep down I know we're going right back to practise the same damn corruption that we claim to fight. I've come here on behalf of the Speaker and Parliament of Uganda to make this recommitted to the fight against corruption,” Mr Oulanyah said.

The deputy Speaker added that Ugandans need a change of attitude to stop corruption. He used a biblical allusion in his speech saying when a person who has not been corrupt should be the first to cast a stone on the corrupt.

At the same event, President Museveni observed a need to ensure that the temptation to be corrupt is eliminated, making reference to words in the Lord ’s Prayer which calls for humans not to be led into temptation.

“Therefore, anybody who delays a project in agriculture, in industry, in services is indirectly an enemy in the fight against corruption. Let us develop our economy and then we can preach on the moral side and the spiritual side,” he said.