Conceptually, corruption is a form of behaviour that departs from ethics, morality, tradition, law and civic culture. It has adopted a format to an extent that it actually can’t be universally described as a single issue of reason.
As such, there can never be all-around criteria for measuring the level of corrupt behaviour among individuals and groups however, it is a time and space phenomenon in that what is viewed as corrupt behaviour at some point and place or by one society may be viewed as acceptable and normal conduct in another society.
But in this context, it’s the abuse of public office for personal and private interest, the public office being either a government department, philanthropic or private organisation dealing directly with the public.
In these organisations, corruption may involve all those concerned with public undertakings at various levels of the state and the private sector that may include servants, clerics i.e. (the church and mosques) bureaucrats at various levels and the employees in the private sector.
However, it is important to note that the act has been spearheaded by the high-ranking public servants that are entrusted with authority by the people.
These people have abused their offices ranging from actions of demanding gifts in return for services rendered to the clients at every level of public management, manipulating the electoral process in the favour of a certain candidate and inflating public bills to enhance interest to the outright theft of cash from organisations etc.
Inflation of public bills is a very alarming form of corruption that has always left the taxpayers gazing at the worn-out dogmas of scourging and filthy acts from the people they entrusted with the authority to lead them. The most recent of such a form of corruption was at the bank of Uganda where the secretary of the treasury claim to have bought pens of 500 dollars each, an issue that shocked concerned citizens. A check on the income, assets and liabilities of the officials indicated that they had accumulated wealth that couldn’t be accounted for or raised from their total annual income and allowances over their time of service.
Because of all that Parliamentary Inquiry Commission such as COSASE, State House Anti- Corruption Unit was set up to check on such issues.
Currently, the Unit and Inquiry Commissions have managed to drive bills to the Parliament but most important of all the policy that “citizens should be tasked to declare their income, assets and liabilities to the state” of which the policy targets people that have accumulated wealth through corruption.
The strategy has realised some success in that a few cases have managed to raise public attention while many of the other sagas remain silent and forgotten.
The policy has also to some extent managed to scare away greedy leaders from participating in the scourge act of corruption, but more has got to be done to increase its effectiveness.
For example, some top heads of corruption scandals have always created bank accounts in very many foreign countries and set up unchecked investments in European countries, so such issues have not yet been addressed to ensure that no stone is left unturned.
The policy has been still countered, watered down by the over-demanding and unjustifiable central commands from top executives that have left cases of maximum interest unattended to.
Such cases that caught public attention include; the UCB sale scandal where billions of cash were robbed and later found on international bank accounts of the victims that were being tried at the high court in Kololo but later pardoned by the State on unclear grounds. Of which the previously convicted people have still been given chances to serve and later reappeared in other sagas for example Dr Keith Muhakanizi who was later involved in the crane bank unfair recapitalisation scandal.
The NSSF “Temangalo saga” where ruthless people transferred the lifetime savings of the poor people into their accounts in Europe but left unpunished after a trial at the Nakasero Division court.
Despite all those failures, the income and asset declaration policy was able to reveal the secret dirty transactions of Mr. Luzinda and the chief accountant in the office of the Prime Minister. They were found to own assets and income that tripled their expected annual earnings for example multi-billion complex residences in Naguru, a Kampala suburb, they were tried and later remanded to Luzira maximum prison for 6 months which was a great success of the policy.
In conclusion, the income, assets and liability declaration policy can reduce corruption on grounds that the practice is independent and transparently equal to every individual.
BY SAMUEL MUWANIKA.
