UGANDA: Donors and civil society groups slam corruption

KAMPALA, 15 May (IRIN) - Donors and civil society organisations have joined together to deplore corruption in Uganda's government, which they say is endemic from the top right down to local administrative levels.

A statement issued by Uganda's Development Partners at the annual donor conference in Kampala, read by Netherlands ambassador Matthiew Peters, spoke of the "widely held perception in Ugandan society that corruption is pervasive, institutionalised and on the increase".

"Uganda continues to rank amongst the most corrupt countries in international indices," the statement added.

"Large scale corruption and embezzlement at the top, which is carried out with impunity, has worked to encourage the proliferation of administrative corruption at the grassroots," it said. "This has led to a disturbing trend of increasing tolerance of corrupt practices within Ugandan society."

Citing the findings of a Uganda Debt Network investigation into government accounts, Peters noted that some 200 billion Ugandan Shillings (US$ 40m) "is lost or misused each year", leaving 7.5 percent of the budget unaccounted for.

"It is becoming increasingly difficult for us, as donors, to explain this to our taxpayers at home who currently provide just under half of the government of Uganda budget," he warned.

Frances Akello, chairwoman of the Teso Anti-Corruption Organisation, read out another statement on behalf of the "grassroots people from 10 districts in Uganda". The statement focused on a number of aspects of governance in Uganda, emphasising areas where it suggested the government had failed to serve the people's interests.

"The very organs meant to implement, enforce and promote the rule of law, such as the judiciary and the police, are ranked amongst the highest corrupt institutions," Akello said. If the very lawmakers and enforcers are corrupt, who then can promote the rule of law?."

Akello later told IRIN there were "staggering levels" of corruption at local government level. "Tenders are awarded unscrupulously to political leaders, their cronies and top civil servants, which results in substandard work," she said.

However Prime Minister Apollo Nsibambi rejected charges of widespread corruption. He said those who claimed that money had gone missing from public funds should provide evidence to back up their accusations.

[ENDS]

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