The Anti-Corruption Convention 2023 Conference concluded with a call on stakeholders to work as a team to stem all forms of fraudulent behavior to fleece public funds. The call was made by various speakers at a one day conference organized by the Anti-Corruption Coalition, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), held at Golf Course Hotel in Kampala on Thursday.
Colonel Edith Nakalema, the Head of State House Investors Protection Unit, said to stem corruption, there is need for state and nonstate actors to work together. She said corruption is an evil that requires people of integrity and high moral values to stem the vice.
“I grew up from a humble background from a staunch Christian family, which is why my devotion to religious norms and the fear of committing sins has shaped my devotion to fighting to eradicate corruption and other evil behavior in the army and my present appointment as Head of the State House Investors Protection Unit,” she said.
She called upon parents to impact good moral values to their children to bring them up as responsible citizens.
Amos Ngolobe, a representative from State House Anti-Corruption Unit highlighted the bottlenecks facing the fight to stem corruption in public and private entities to include; limited investigators, lack of adequate forensic auditors and inadequate audit reports among others.
He called for harsh penalties to corrupt public officials, saying the 14-year jail term for those convicted of corruption after stealing billions of taxpayers’ money is such a short sentence.
He wondered why some public servants suspected of corruption are tried by Courts of Law, while they still continue to occupy public offices.
“In other cases, those convicted and terminated from public offices because of corruption continue to receive salaries,”he wondered.
panel discussions brought together officials from Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Office of the Auditor General and Inspector General of Government among others.
They observed that senior corrupt officials in public offices are in the habit of using their juniors to execute “dirty” deals that result in the Government losing lots of money in shoddy and dubious contracts and in procurement of public goods among others.
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