The United States government has donated 120.3 Billion Shillings to support the government of Uganda’s fight against corruption.
The five-year project is under the U.S Agency for International Development (USAID) and aims at strengthening accountability, deepening public participation in and oversight of public institutions, and social services, and reducing corruption in public sectors.
It will be implemented by Management Systems International in partnership with the Anti-Corruption Coalition of Uganda, Private Sector Foundation Uganda, the Accountability Lab, and Development Gateway.
It will work with local governments in the Albertine and Northern Uganda regions, those in refugee-hosting districts, in Kampala and surrounding districts to address corruption, accountability, and performance in the education, oil, and gas, and refugee support sectors, among others.
Speaking at the launch of the project on Thursday, Natalie Brown, the US Ambassador to Uganda, said that the project will specifically focus on strengthening budgeting, financial management, and procurement processes so that they are not susceptible to corruption.
According to Ambassador Brown, the new strategy will support citizens and civil society engagement in their anti-corruption initiatives and strengthen the government’s rewards and sanctions systems, standards, and norms.
“We want every Ugandan to be able to access public services without paying a bribe so that they can build their businesses and strengthen their communities instead of further enriching someone just for doing their job,”she said.
Anne Twinomugisha Muhairwe, the Deputy Inspector General of Government, says that this project is timely since the Inspectorate of Government is focusing on getting the public involved in the fight against corruption.
Jane Frances Obodo, the Director of Public Prosecutions- DPP says that although Uganda has several legal frameworks in the fight against corruption, the long legal process is becoming a challenge in the fight against the vice.
According to Obodo, the investigators are also inadequately facilitated to handle corruption cases which are increasingly becoming sophisticated and complex.
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