Lifestyle audit is a post-mortem

I recently read and saw in the media the focus of the current anti-corruption movement as social accountability and lifestyle audits. The focus confirms that we have not learnt that prevention is better than cure.  I appreciate that any form of intervention is good because where this nation has reached in terms of ‘decadency’, any strategy or intervention is worth trying. 

There are two approaches to fighting corruption: Preventive and responsive. Preventive is mainly policy and systems while responsive has two aspects: Combative and audit. The second aspect is where we are to concentrate as a nation, yet it is the first aspect that is necessary. There are strange things which happen in this land. The very nature of corruption certainly needs extraordinary methods to counteract it.  Permit me to suggest another odd strategy, although not totally new, but odd to apply in our deep-rooted corruption terrain – prevention through systems. It is prudent to understand the push factors that have facilitated corruption in Uganda, and hence establish preventive mechanisms and strategies to reduce or eliminate them.

First of all, prevention mechanisms are longterm. They require long-term solutions and processes (not dreams and wishes!). Furthermore, they require proper monitoring and evaluative schemes so that strategies can be changed over time to maximise effectiveness. In other words, if ICT changes then a preventive mechanism is to develop firewalls that deter abuse.

 Secondly, developing such prevention strategies is the same as developing any other project or programme. It therefore, requires proper assessment, good planning, active monitoring, and direct resources such as human, financial, technical, etc. Unfortunately, Uganda’s investment in systems to prevent is weak. While the fraudsters are heavily investing on how to evade being caught, we are still concerned about maintaining obsolete systems that are facilitators rather than deterrents of loss. Now we want to audit them? So what follows?

Thirdly, prevention as a matter of fact includes action and investment in Sector Wide Approach (SWAP). We ought to consider for example, education as a sector, health as a segment that relates to education (that is why we have education for health, and health for education), water as a sector that affects education and health and later the agriculture sector ( e.g water for production at macro level, the boreholes at micro level affect education, subsistence agriculture and health etc.). When tackled at sector level, it has better impact than the usual sporadic arrests that only leaves the big fish swimming.

Finally, preventive approaches may never be felt in the public eye but they save resources compared to the available responsive and combative approaches that have not worked. They are not felt because there are no ‘TV and media arrests’ because ultimately the crime would not have been committed. Loss to the individual or the state would have not been incurred.

I remember the joy I would get when there was prevention of certain billions payment and the cry of the corrupt. In May 2004, I was deeply involved in ensuring that a Shs13.6 billion illegal compensation of ranches in Ssembabule is halted. The case was of its own kind because it involved influential people in the country (different species and some in Opposition then!) and that was prevented using all available means.

It was at an end of year party, somewhere in Luzira, about six years later after leaving the ‘prevention’ office, that I read a headline on January 1, 2010 that ‘Sembabule ranches compensated at Shs13.6 Billion cleared’ not through any court process but through various directives that I will address later in another article. I felt anger burning in my throat and wished many things- including the wish that I would just ignore and sleep!

Now, do you need a lifestyle audit for such? I would want to respectively disagree. What one needed was a system to continuously prevent the ‘Nile Perch’ from accessing the cake that belongs to ‘Mukkene’ fish! Even our body sizes, houses, vehicles, sirens causing jam, diseases (there are diseases for the big fish apparently….) ad nauseam…. will inform the auditor that we may not need any other type. What am I saying? Please prevent rather than respond. Give life rather than bury. Treat rather than carry out a post-mortem. What is helpful after all? Your guess is as good as mine. It may sound rather late, but it’s never too late -to- prevent!

Mr Jasper Tumuhimbise is a governance consultant, statistician and activist formerly working with Inspectorate of Government and ACCU.