Districts accounting officers tipped on fighting corruption

The Act was designed to provide for the procedures through which individuals in both the private and public sector may in the public interest disclose information that relates to irregular, illegal, or corrupt practices to provide for the protection against victimisation of persons who make disclosures and to provide for related matters.

The Inspector General of Government (IGG), Betty Kamya, during the quarterly meeting with CAOs and town clerks from citizens and municipal councils held in Kampala on Friday, said the whistleblowers Act provides 5% to any money the whistleblowers recover.

She explained that if the CAO or town clerk uses it, they can get additional clean money for salaries earned.

Kamya added that corruption at district level sometimes is difficult to stop due to CAOs and town clerks who also involve in corruption scandals, urging them to stop the vice.

While addressing the media ahead of the International Anti-Corruption Day last year, Kamya admitted that eradicating corruption cannot happen in one day. She called for continued and active involvement of the public in the fight against the vice.

According to the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index for 2021, Uganda scored 27 out of 100, which is below the Sub-Saharan average of 33 points, and below the global average of 43 points.

The study that used information from 13 global sources, targeted a total of 189 countries 49 of them in Africa.