Report corruption acts and get handsome commission – IGG

The Inspectorate of Government (IG) has rallied the general public to always volunteer enough information to facilitate the successful prosecution of corrupt government officials. 

To this end, the public has been reminded of the hefty commissions payable to those who volunteer information that would lead to the recovery of stolen public funds. 

Beti Olive Namisango Kamya Turomwe, the Inspector General of Government (IGG), says they are prioritizing increased public awareness on corruption to ensure an informed citizenry willing to fight corruption, a vice that deprives Ugandans of essential services. 

Addressing journalists during a press conference held at the IG offices on Tuesday, Kamya cited common breaches in the district service commissions (DSC) recruitments including; nepotism, bribery, political interference, recruitment of non-qualified staff and falsification of qualifications, among others.

“Apart from the injustice of denying a person of merit the opportunity to serve our country, there is the great danger of littering the public service with human resource of low calibre which in turn leads to incompetency, inefficiency, no performance, loss of public trust, loss of funds, poor service delivery and eventually poverty. There is a very big problem. There is therefore a very important matter to address,” said Kamya. 

Simon Ogwal Kajura, director of anti-corruption said the inspectorate has introduced a rewards system under the Whistle Blowers Protection Act, 2010 that allows a person who volunteers information on corruption to be rewarded 5 per cent of the total recovered money in corruption.

“It is not all lost. In terms of people staying quiet, the only reason that evil thrives is because good people do nothing. We also had issues about equity heading the vigilant and it is the civic duty of all of us. There is a reward system under the Whistleblowers Act, also under the IG Act there is a provision that this one is up to the discretionary of the IGG to pay up to 5 per cent of the money recovered consequent of the information you give,” said Kajura. 

On 26 January 2023, while officiating at the 37th National Resistance Movement Day celebrations in Kakumiro and Mubende districts, President Yoweri Museveni once again decried the rampant corruption in DSCs, citing the sale of public jobs to the highest bidder, political patronage and sex for jobs among others.

Currently, the inspectorate is investigating over 800 cases of corruption and abuse of office relating to irregular recruitment processes by the different DSCs in local governments across the country.

Ogwal observed that they are only able to secure only 35 per cent conviction rate of all cases of corruption reported to the inspectorate because those who have implicating evidence prefer silence over their civic duties to report evils in the society for redress.

The latest complaints the inspectorate is investigating include Iganga district service commission following the irregular recruitment of 47 teachers without advertisement in September 2022. Findings faulted the secretary to the commission for forging minute extracts that led to the appointment of non-selected candidates.

Equally, the inspectorate has implicated the secretary of Mitooma district service commission and recommended the disbandment of Rakai district service commission over irregular recruitment exercises deemed to violate Section 55 (8) of the Local Government Act, 2017 as amended.