Speaker tips African MPs on corruption, illicit financial flows

Speaker of Parliament Anita Among has tasked legislators on the Public Accountability Committees (PAC) in Parliaments’ on the African continent to focus on combating corruption and all other forms of illicit financial flows in their respective countries.

This was contained in her keynote address delivered at the official opening of the 5th African Organisation of Public Accounts Committees (AFROPAC) Assembly in Kampala yesterday. The function was convened under the theme Illicit Financial Flows and Fostering Public Financial Resilience.

“In Africa, it's not because we are poor, we have it all. If we utilise what we have, we wouldn't be getting money from the foreign world. But if we manage the issues of corruption, tax evasion, illicit financing, then we will not be lobbying or borrowing or soliciting money from the outside world,” Ms Among said.

She added: “And I want to request the chairpersons of Africa, PAC Africa, that please put your foot down and fight for this continent. If we don't have a united Africa, then we are not going anywhere. African problems can only be solved locally, not by external forces.”

Ms Among decried the loss African governments suffer at the expense of corruption and illicit financial activities on the continent.

“What is alarming is that the loss of this money is felt by our indigenous people in the country because at the end of the day, this money comes out of the taxes that our people pay. And the impact that it has is that we lose out in service delivery,” the Speaker said.

She added: “We lose out on infrastructure, we don't have hospitals, you will have no schools, you will have poor roads which will cause accidents, you will have no electricity, and there will be no development in the country. So, this theme is very fitting for this conference today because of what is happening in the countries in Africa.”

As a result of persistent corruption, many citizens have lost confidence in their respective governments.

“In almost every country on that continent, there is a growing deficit of the public trust in the governments because they do not get what is expected of the government because these monies have not been used in a proper way. There is discontent within the quality of service delivery,” she said.

Her call to the MPs drawn from across governments on the African continent comes just two weeks after the government committed to ring-fence Shs198.7 Billion to wrestle corruption in Uganda.

According to the State minister for Finance in charge of General Duties, Mr Henry Musasizi, the funds will be wired through the office of the Auditor General, Directorate of Ethics and Integrity plus the Office of the Inspector General of Government (IGG).

However, the speaker also questioned the capability of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) committee members on analysing Auditor general reports among others.

“From my experience as a leader of PAC and now as a Speaker, I have noted that while Members are assigned to PACs, many lack the requisite knowledge, skills and experience to excel in their tour of duty. This is attributed to inadequate induction and orientation as well as lack of analytical frameworks,” Ms Among observed.

She attributed this to inadequate induction and orientation as well as lack of analytical frameworks.

“As one of the ways of addressing these gaps, the Parliament of Uganda is finalising development of a standardised analytical framework for scrutiny of financial statements and audit reports in Parliament,” Ms Among said.