Parliament should walk the talk in fight against corruption

What you need to know:

Consequences. Since corruption among leaders is not a new occurrence, some people remain hopeful that maybe Parliament will lead by example and put in place stringent measures and mechanisms that will deter leaders from corrupt tendencies while saving citizens from consequences of corruption.

Recently, I attended the 21st National Prayer Breakfast meeting organised by the Parliament of Uganda. The theme of the prayer breakfast was, “The power of character in leadership.”
President Museveni was the chief guest. And he was quoted saying, “I have seen with my own eyes over the past 60 years how people have ruined their chances and missed out on opportunities because of abuse of trust. Why be corrupt and take bribes? Don’t do it. If you have been trusted in small things, you could also be trusted in big things.”
In reference to the theme, President Museveni quoted Luke 16:10-12 that reads: “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own?”
Although President Museveni was quick to point out that he has “never taken a bribe from anybody or accepted a bribe or requested for any bribe”. It was interesting to hear the President’s comments at the prayer breakfast since the organisers of the event are Members of Parliament (MPs) who are sometimes accused of being corrupt.
The Speaker of Parliament, Ms Rebecca Kadaga, substantiated President Museveni’s concerns about corruption by saying there are many individuals with ill-gotten wealth and stacks of money hidden under their mattresses at home.
The Speaker remarked that government money meant for infrastructure and schools was corruptly being diverted. It was insinuated that God will deal with corrupt leaders individually through their own conscious.
However, it seems debatable if the public is willing to wait patiently or quietly indefinitely for God’s wrath and judgement against corrupt leaders who continue to accumulate wealth at the expense of taxpayers.
In his speech, the President went on to explain that Independent Uganda has come a long way in terms of economic development. However, abuse of trust and untrustworthy characteristics in some leaders continue to cause obstructions.
Some people in the audience kept wondering what more, or what could be done differently to change the abuse of public trust and confidence by some leaders in the NRM government.
The implication of corrupt leader’s insatiable appetite and greed highlights two issues:
1) That the level of distrust in leaders has steadily increased and in turn is now tainting government’s image.
2) The public has had to suffer and bare the harsh consequences brought by lack of leadership, integrity and consequently inadequate service delivery in hospitals, schools and most government institutions.
Although the theme for the prayer breakfast was appropriately chosen for the occasion, unfortunately, the power of character in leadership and decency no longer seem to be important in some government offices.
As government continues with multimillion-dollar development projects in infrastructure in different parts of the country, there are high risks that corruption among some leaders in ‘lucrative’ ministries will increase and persist, leaving many people vulnerable.
As usual, many will be left at the mercy of leaders only interested in personal gain. Since corruption among leaders is not a new occurrence, some people remain hopeful that maybe Parliament will lead by example and put in place stringent measures and mechanisms that will deter leaders from corrupt tendencies while saving citizens from consequences of corruption.
Ms Victoria Nyeko is a media commentator.
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Twitter:@VictoriaNyeko