The Minister for the Presidency, Hon. Milly Babalanda, called on local government leaders and public servants to eliminate the enablers of corruption, saying the vice continues to deny Ugandans quality public services and delay the country’s socio-economic transformation.
Representing President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni at the closing of the Ministry of Local Government’s meeting on the implementation of the Presidential directive to expose and eliminate corruption, held yesterday at Imperial Royale Hotel in Kampala, Babalanda conveyed the President’s appreciation to the many patriotic public servants who continue to ensure government programmes benefit the intended citizens.
However, she noted that corruption remains a major challenge, describing it as not only the theft of public money but also the theft of opportunities from children, patients, farmers and ordinary Ugandans by denying them access to education, healthcare, clean water, better roads and improved livelihoods.
Quoting 2 Chronicles 19:7, she urged public servants to uphold justice, fairness and integrity in the execution of their duties.
Babalanda said investigations have revealed that one of the greatest enablers of corruption in local governments is the failure of public officials to independently execute their oversight responsibilities, explaining that when institutions fail to check one another, accountability collapses, creating opportunities for corruption to thrive.
She highlighted procurement for being one corruption enabler that has resulted in the approval of payments for non-existent or substandard projects, concealment of shoddy works, falsification of monitoring reports and misrepresentation of the implementation status of government programmes, leaving roads, classrooms and markets incomplete despite contractors having been fully paid.
She also highlighted corruption in the education sector through inflated enrolment figures, ghost learners and the practice of teachers abandoning their duty stations while illegally sharing salaries with individuals hired to teach on their behalf.
In the health sector, she condemned the diversion of medicines from public health facilities to private clinics and pharmacies, saying the practice exploits vulnerable Ugandans.
She further warned against corruption in recruitment into local government service, stressing that government jobs must never be influenced by bribery, nepotism, sexual exploitation or any other illegal considerations.
In her concluding remarks she affirmed government’s commitment to ensuring that no individual is above the law and called on all public servants to reject corruption, embrace transparency and make integrity the foundation of public service.