The Inspectorate of Government (IG) has noted a rise in corruption complaints, increasing from 1,309 in 2023 to 1,657 in 2024.
The Inspector General of Government, Betty Kamya shared that between July 2023 and June 2024, the inspectorate successfully recovered assets totaling shs8 billion, completed 1,778 investigations, and initiated 63 prosecution cases, leading to the conviction of 37 individuals.
Additionally, they conducted 802 investigations related to corruption and inspected over 1,000 projects.
Kamya also disclosed that assets valued at shs31.3bn have been mandated for recovery during this period.
“It is evident that there was an increase in the number of complaints received by the IG, number of investigations concluded, funds ordered for recovery and an improvement in the conviction rate,” she noted.
Kamya was presenting the Bi-Annual Reports to the Speaker of Parliament, Anitah Among.
She credited this achievement to enhancements in internal processes, including investigations led by prosecutors and greater citizen involvement.
However, Kamya pointed out significant obstacles hindering the inspectorate’s ability to fulfill its responsibilities, such as insufficient funding, a backlog of cases, outdated systems, and high staff turnover due to low pay.
She noted that over 5,000 cases remain uninvestigated.
She called on the government to consider boosting the IG’s budget for operations, acquiring new vehicles and equipment, conducting the fifth National Integrity Survey, and investing in staff training and recruitment.
In her report, she disclosed that preliminary findings from the IG indicated widespread corruption in government recruitment processes, following a recent IG-led study on the extent and cost of corruption within district service commissions.
She assured that the final report would be released soon.
Among urged the IG to enhance public awareness campaigns in the battle against corruption, emphasizing the importance of building relationships with citizens to facilitate the collection of crucial information regarding corrupt activities.
“I know you are creating awareness to the public about corruption, misuse of government funds, but I want you to increase [on awareness], create friendship with these people [the public]. When you create friendship with these people, they will be able to tell you so and so take this and that will be a starting point,” she said.
Article 231 (1) of the Constitution requires the IGG to submit to Parliament at least once every six months, a report on the performance of its functions and make recommendations for the efficient performance of public institutions.
The IGG received praise for their unwavering dedication and adherence to legal requirements.
Among expressed Parliament’s commitment to enhancing the inspectorate’s budget and efficiency, emphasizing the importance of transitioning their operations to digital.
“I recognise the critical and ever-increasing need for the IGG in terms of budgetary requirements. I have seen that you are still in the analogue era; it would be good if you went digital for you to do an audit trail,” she noted.
She pledged that as Parliament, they will maintain their oversight on the IG’s activities, focus on legislation, and, most importantly, ensure proper funding to ensure the inspectorate gets the resources necessary to carry their work effectively.
The reports are to be laid on the Floor of Parliament next October 10, 2024 and later will be referred to the Committee on Legal and Parliamentary Affairs for scrutiny.
