Former Minister for Ethics and Integrity Miria Matembe has said that the current increasing levels of immorality in Uganda are due to greedy leaders who love money more than their country.
While speaking on UBC TV on this week, Matembe said the establishment of the Ministry of Ethics and Integrity in 1998 was to protect the country’s integrity and morals, however, she is surprised that the Ministry is so silent about what is going on in the country.
“That means from that time of its establishment, nothing much has been done which is why the morals and ethical values of this country are so low that anything immoral can happen. The way I see Uganda now, we have lost the human soul. Ugandans seem to be minding about materialism, riches and positions of power at the expense of the country. There is a scripture in the bible which says they are greedy as graves.., that is what is happening in Uganda,” she said.
Matembe noted that the issue of moral decadence in Uganda has been neglected by not only leaders but also parents since everyone is looking for money and how to become rich. “When I participated in the Parliamentary elections for elderly representation, I found out that corruption has gone to another level to the extent that people were being bought like pancakes to vote for particular people, so if the head is rotten what of the tail (common man).”
“Another problem we have is that our leaders no longer believe in God, most of them are idol worshipers yet this country belongs to God. And when the fear of God departs from the country, immorality in our country takes place that is why young people are feeding on Marijuana, and drugs a reason why criminality is increasing in our communities,” she said.
She added that Uganda is like a sinking ship but it seems nobody is bothered to find a solution. “The religious leaders we have today have all been corrupted by the present regime, and cannot help in rescuing this country because they themselves need help.”
The issue of escalating levels of immorality has always been a concern but it seems it has been given little attention by those in a position to come up with overall solutions.
Even last year in October, Parliamentarians urged the government to take urgent practical steps to address the increased decline of moral and ethical values if Uganda is to have more stability, peace, security, unity as well as prosperity.
According to the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Forum on Ethics and Morality Dr James Nsaba Buturo, ethical and moral values are determinant factors as far as a nation’s stability, integrity, security, unity, peace, socio-economic development and prosperity are concerned.
He cautioned that if the high levels of moral decadence are not halted and reversed, the country will suffer multi-problems such as substandard service delivery regimes, weak representation in Parliament, poor quality leadership in the nation and more unemployment. “The multiplicity of these negative outcomes will affect Uganda’s goal to become a middle-income nation and later on a developed one,” he said last year in October.
According to reports from civil societies, corruption and sexual abuse are some of the main immoral acts that have continued to erode Uganda’s ethical values.
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