The Minister for Presidency, Hon. Babirye Milly Babalanda on Tuesday during the launch of the Mid-term review of the National Resistance Movement Manifesto revealed that corruption still makes it difficult to carry out the NRM’s promises to Ugandans effectively.
The minister noted that Corruption is a major barrier that prevents the government from delivering on its pledges and keeping its word. She noted the widespread problem of corruption not only erodes public confidence in government agencies but also diminishes the effectiveness of policies and initiatives meant to promote socio economic development.
“On a scale of 100% we are almost hitting 70 per cent if you compare our statistics we now However, corruption has hindered us. That’s why in our recent cabinet meeting, Mzee expressed his disappointment on how corruption is thriving in many government entities and soon we are going to act on this. Corruption has hindered a lot of service delivery,” she said.
She noted that legislative actions to stop illegal activities and anti-corruption organizations have been put in place as part of continuous efforts to combat corruption. Nonetheless, the continued existence of corrupt practices emphasizes the necessity of taking more thorough and persistent action. “Corruption impedes investment and innovation, diverts funds from vital services, and upholds inequality, all of which hinder the country’s progress. That’s why Mzee this time around is tough on it.”
“It takes a multipronged strategy that includes strong institutional support, legal changes, and effective enforcement tools to combat corruption. In addition, fighting corruption at all societal levels requires cultivating a culture of openness, responsibility, and moral leadership. The administration can only effectively combat corruption and clear the path for the full realization of the goals outlined in the NRM manifesto by working together and demonstrating unshakable commitment,” she said.
Given these obstacles, Minister Babalanda’s open admission functions as a rallying cry for increased efforts to combat corruption. It also emphasizes the significance of strong anti-corruption initiatives, open governance procedures, and the shared commitment of all parties involved to respect moral principles and responsibility.
Meanwhile in public office according to recent reports by the Inspectorate of Government, corruption is practiced through different avenues such as; Taxation, using the data on prevalence and size of bribes in taxation, the estimated total cost of bribes paid by citizens to tax officials is about Shs 27 billion per year. While, in the absence of data about the value of bribes and gifts paid by firms to tax officials, it is difficult to develop a precise cost estimate of bribery in tax collection for businesses.
User fees for public utilities; Evidence on the level of bribery rates in water and electricity utilities and the average amounts of bribes result in a total cost for public service users of nearly UGX. 54 billion. According to the Uganda National Water and Sewerage Corporation and the Electricity Regulatory Authority, losses due to billing inefficiencies costs the public budget more than Shs424 billion.
there is no evidence on the exact share of these costs attributable to bribery, we argue that most or close to all costs likely involve some form of corruption. In sum, these two costs lead to the total loss of almost Shs478 billion.
Public service provision; Quality of public services that are provided by the government to people living in the country can be seriously undermined by corruption. The consequences of corruption in public service provision are
detrimental to individual citizens (users) who lose out and bear the costs in terms of bribes, lost health or years of education.
Absenteeism in the public sector, high rates of absenteeism in the public sector has led to numerous costs for citizens and society at large. According to IGG, absenteeism makes essential services less accessible for users, as well as reducing their quality. Secondly, wages of absent employees are net losses to the public budget, which fail to create value for citizens.
Corruption in employment in the public sector;Corruption in recruitment of public service workers introduces costs of paying bribes for applicants, as well as loss of quality of services for users, and the cost of salaries paid to unqualified workers for the public budget.
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