The Inspector General of Government (IGG), Betty Olive Kamya, has appealed to local communities to get involved in the fight against corruption by reporting any officials caught practicing.
She made the appeal while touring south-western Uganda to sensitise communities about the need to join the fight against corruption among civil servants.
“I am here to incite the population to rise up and join the war against corruption.I implore you, my fellow Ugandans, to look out for the quality of government programmes and how they are implemented because these are meant to improve our livelihoods,” Kamya stated.
The IGG says it is very crucial for the local communities to be directly involved in the monitoring of government programmes in their areas in order to ensure effective service delivery.
She urged Ugandans to own government programmes and guard them jealously against the corrupt, since they are meant to improve the livelihoods of families and communities.
However, local leaders from the region advised the Inspectorate of Government on the need to extend whistle-blower boxes to all local government facilities, as this will ease the reporting of corruption tendencies by the members of communities.
According to the 2021 Survey conducted by the Inspectorate of Government together with the German Society for International Cooperation, Uganda loses 20 trillion shillings every year through corruption.
The survey shows that at least UGX 131 billion is lost through taxation, 459 billion is lost in user fees for utilities, 820 billion is lost in natural resources, and 15 billion is lost in environmental degradation.
It also found out that UGX 2 billion is lost as a result of absenteeism in different government departments, 451 billion in the health care and education services, 86 billion in security provision, 590 billion in procurement and budgeting, and 233 billion shillings in regulation.