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It wasn't me! I am a mere president! The buck does not stop here; it stops at ministries and districts! How sad!
Museveni tells off donors on corruption |
| By Grace Matsiko |
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MUNYONYO - President Yoweri Museveni yesterday used strong language to rebut accusations by the donors that his government was not doing much to combat high-level corruption.
âSome people who spend a lot of their saliva about subjects which they donât study well think we are still in the book of Genesis,â the President said yesterday while launching the national strategy to fight corruption at Speke Resort Munyonyo. The Presidentâs remarks followed a speech by Mr Eric Hawthorn, the head of the British Development Fund for International Development (DFID), who represented the donor community, which criticised governmentâs reluctance to fight corruption. Hawthorn said, notwithstanding the launch of the 2004-2007 anticorruption strategy, there is still a widely held perception in Uganda that corruption is pervasive, institutionalised and on the increase. âInternational surveys have reached sim ilar conclusions. Uganda remains in the category of countries described as ârampantly corruptâ according to Transparency Internationalâs corruption perception index, despite her improvement in corruption ranking in recent years,â Hawthorn added. He said, Ms Faith Mwondha, the Inspector General of Government, told Parliament, the the proposals in the Constitution Amendment Bill will significantly weaken the ombudsmanâs powers and its ability to enforce the Leadership Code Act. âIf these proposals go through without amendment, it could be damaging to Ugandaâs international reputation and send the wrong message to the people of Uganda about the commitment to genuinely fight corruption,â Hawthorn said. He said lack of prosecution of corruption suspects named by various commissions of inquiry was âdisappointing.â âHowever, the strategy in itself will not have an impact without strong political will,â Hawthorn said. But Mus eveni said in his address, âsometimes I would not like to come to these meetings because there is lack of seriousness.â He said before the Movement came to power, there was lawlessness orchestrated by the State, which has been stopped. Looking towards Hawthorn Museveni said, âyou (donors) talk of political will; you canât fight corruption when you have a permanent secretary who is a thief.â He said the donors should blame the government accounting officers at ministry and district level, but not the President. |
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