The 4th Annual National Anti-Corruption

Convention

Theme ‘Fighting Corruption and Promoting Integrity’

Summary of the Proceedings

3rd December 2014 Hotel Africana, Kampala

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Contents

LIST OF ACRONYMS ........................................................................................................................................... 3

FOREWORD ........................................................................................................................................................ 4

1. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................................... 5

1.1 Opening Remarks- Richard Ssewakiryanga, Executive Director Uganda National Ngo Forum ............. 6

1.2 The Meaning of the quest to reclaim Integrity- Father Gaetano Batayenda .................................... 6

2. HIGH LEVEL OPENING CEREMONY ............................................................................................................ 7

2.1 Statement by the Chief Guest- The Assistant Auditor General, Mrs. Keto Nyapendi Kayemba ....... 7

2.2 Plenary ............................................................................................................................................... 8

2.3 Key Note Address - Dr. Ngabirano Maximiano Director School of Diplomacy, Governance and

International Studies- Uganda Martyrs University Nkozi .............................................................................. 9

2.4 Plenary ............................................................................................................................................. 10

3. SHARING EXPERIENCES ON THE FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION AND BUILDING INTEGRITY. ................. 10

3.1 Community Participatory Integrity Campaign-Uganda National NGO Forum ................................ 10

3.2 Anti Corruption Caravan-Action Aid International Uganda ............................................................. 11

3.3 Access to Information-Africa Freedom of Information Centre ....................................................... 12

4. EMERGING ISSUES FROM THE PARALLEL SESSIONS .................................................................................... 13

4.1 Promoting Integrity in Communities ..................................................................................................... 13

4.2 Financing in the Accountability Sector in Uganda ................................................................................. 14

4.3 Social Accountability Models ................................................................................................................. 15

4.4 Access to Information through the use of ICT ....................................................................................... 15

5. CLOSING SESSION .................................................................................................................................... 16

5.1 Celebrating Icons of Integrity ................................................................................................................ 16

5.2 Presentation of Statement from the 4th Annual National Anti-Corruption Convention ...................... 17

5.3 Closing Remarks- Hon. Justice Geoffrey Kiryabwire, Judge-Court Of Appeal And Constitutional Court

Of Uganda .................................................................................................................................................... 17

5.4 Conclusion and Way Forward ................................................................................................................ 18

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LIST OF ACRONYMS

AFIC Africa Freedom of Information Centre

BMM Black Monday Movement

CSBAG Civil Society Budget Accountability Group

CSOs Civil Society Organizations

FOWODE Forum for Women in Democracy

GAPP Governance Accountability Participation and Performance programme

GOU Government of Uganda

ICTs Information and Communication Technologies

NGOs Non-Governmental Organizations

OAG Office of the Auditor General

RDC Resident District Commissioner

RTI Right to Information

UGMP Uganda Governance Monitoring Platform (UGMP)

UNNGOF Uganda National NGO Forum

USAID United States Agency for International Development

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FOREWORD

I am delighted to share the report from the 4th National Annual Anti-Corruption Convention that was held on 3rd December 2014 under the theme Fighting Corruption and Building Integrity. As part of a wider civic action against the corruption vice in Uganda, Civil Society Organizations have for the past three years organized National Annual Anti-Corruption Conventions to celebrate the International Anti-Corruption day. The conventions are intended to provide a platform for all the citizens who want to put an end to graft and eliminate its pervasive impact on governance, the economy, the environment and most importantly on people’s everyday lives, especially the most vulnerable. The 2014 National Annual Anti-Corruption Convention that attracted over 500 citizens from all walks of life marked 100 weeks of the Black Monday Movement and publication of 24 newsletters. At the beginning of 2014, the Black Monday Movement, still focusing on fighting corruption, launched the integrity initiative dubbed the Community Participatory Campaign to promote integrity in the Ugandan Society. As part of the convention, 30 public servants that were voted as pillars of integrity in their communities were celebrated and recognized. During the Convention, we made deliberate effort to showcase the achievements of innovative initiatives that have promoted integrity in communities such as Ask Your Government an Information Communication Technology (ICT) developed by AFIC that seeks to advance the right to access to information. The Anti-Corruption Caravan by Action Aid International Uganda whose objective was to deepen grassroots outreach, identify Icons of Integrity at regional level and generate region specific issues to inform the national events. As part of the build-up activities to the Anti corruption convention, the Mirrors concert 2014,dubbed MIRRORS OF HOPE was held on …….to set the tone for increased Youth engagement with the anti corruption fight in 2015/2016 electoral process. I wish to recognize and appreciate the invaluable contributions made by Civil Society Organizations and Development Partners. Finally I would like to extend our appreciation to Mrs. Keto Nyapendi Kayemba the Assistant Auditor General and Dr. Ngabirano Maximiano Director School of Diplomacy, Governance and International Studies- Uganda Martyrs University for gracing the occasion.

Alluta Continua

Mr. Richard Ssewakiryanga Executive Director Uganda National NGO Forum

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1. INTRODUCTION A socio political and governance opinion poll conducted by the Uganda Governance Monitoring

Platform (UGMP)1 in 2014 revealed that despite a slump in Uganda’s economic growth rate since 2011

elections from 6.6% in FY 2010/11 to 5.5% in FY 2012/13, 53% of Ugandans believe the economy

has improved. However, the country remains poorly ranked in Transparency International’s 2014

Corruption Perceptions Index at 142 out of 175 countries and territories, with a score of 26 out of 100,

an indication of a high global perception of widespread and endemic corruption.

Despite repeated attempts by the Government of Uganda to strengthen the implementation of legal

structures aimed at curbing corruption, cases of political and administrative excesses continue to

prevail; particularly in the undue use of instruments of coercion such as police, the use of tax payers

money to run political party activities and the unnecessary creation of political jobs including numerous

presidential advisors and RDCs2 . This continues to increase public reservations about the overall

effectiveness of the current systems to successfully overhaul corruption from society.

The launch of the Black Monday Movement in 2012, a social movement spearheaded by Civil Society

to advocate for the elevation of dignity for all Ugandans by eliminating theft of public resources has

overtime built a strong network of citizens to take up widespread civic action against corruption in

Uganda. At the beginning of 2014, the Black Monday Movement, still focusing on fighting corruption,

launched an initiative to promote integrity in the Ugandan Society. The overall goal of the campaign

was to build a pool of ideas and perceptions on integrity that would lead to a collective national

discussion around integrity and actions to promote it at various levels. Specifically, the integrity

campaign initiated a community led process on building integrity in public life, recruited community

integrity agents, identified persons working with integrity and popularized discussions on integrity in

public life.

Therefore to commemorate the 2014 International Anti-Corruption Week, the Uganda National NGO

Forum coordinated a number of CSOs to organize the fourth Annual National Anti-Corruption

Convention to galvanize the citizens’ movement that has fostered a wide range of actions including

civic mobilization, citizen petitions, and other forms of civic action throughout the year. The 4th Annual

National Anti-Corruption Convention was held on 3rd December 2014 at Hotel Africana, Kampala,

Uganda under the theme ‘Fighting Corruption and Promoting Integrity’ to celebrate and profile

individuals that have led descent and honest lives. In attendance were over 500 citizens from the public

and private sectors, the youth, women, people with disabilities, media, activists, academia, religious

leaders, business community, political leaders and civil society among others.

The convention was presided over by Mrs. Keto Nyapendi Kayemba the Assistant Auditor General of

Uganda. The event was also marked with a Key Note Address by Dr. Ngabirano Maximiano Director

School of Diplomacy, Governance and International Studies- Uganda Martyrs University Nkozi. The

closing ceremony was officiated by Hon. Justice Geoffrey Kiryabwire, a Judge from the Court of

Appeal and Constitutional Court of Uganda and 30 Icons of Integrity that have led decent and honest

lives were recognized.

1 Three Years into the 4

th Term: What are the Citizens’ Perceptions of the NRM Performance? UGMP, May 2014

2 Is the 9

th Parliament Delivering to Citizens Expectations? A Mid Term Citizens’ Assessment of the 9

th Parliament-

UGMP, September 2014

6

Richard Ssewakiryanga, Executive Director

UNNGOF

Through an enriching experience sharing session, citizens were availed with achievements of the Black

Monday Movement 2014. Also shared were innovative initiatives on fighting corruption and building

integrity such as the Action Aid Uganda-led Anti Corruption Caravan, UNNGOF Community

Participatory Integrity Campaign and the Ask your government ICT initiative by Africa Freedom of

Information Centre. Furthermore, the four parallel sessions facilitated by UNNGOF on Promoting

Integrity in Communities, AFIC on Access to Information, USAID GAPP Program on community

participation in governance and CSBAG/FOWODE on Financing in the accountability sector enabled

participants to collectively share, learn and devise new strategies for fighting corruption in Uganda,

come 2015. The Convention underscored the importance of cultivating integrity as a means of fighting

corruption in Uganda and hailed transparency and accountability of public administration as keystones

of good governance.

This report is a summary of proceedings from the plenary and parallel sessions at the 4th Annual

National Anti-Corruption Convention.

1.1 Opening Remarks- Richard Ssewakiryanga, Executive Director Uganda

National Ngo Forum

In his remarks, Mr Ssewakiryanga commended civil society organizations under the Black Monday

Movement for its consistent, concerted efforts throughout the year towards ending corruption of office

across sectors. He acknowledged the role played by the Office of the Auditor General in highlighting

the gross mismanagement of funds in public offices. Furthermore, he hailed the silent stand against

corruption by a million citizen that collectively wear black every Monday as a key catalyst for

conversations about the evil of corruption and the dire need for its eradication. He thus encouraged

more Ugandans to adopt the practice.

Mr. Ssewakiryanga also applauded the mass

media for steering the national agenda towards

the elimination of corruption, an action which he

accredited to the increased awareness among

citizens about the magnitude of corruption, and

their roles and responsibilities in kicking out the

vice from Uganda. Lastly, he urged organizations

to maintain the high prioritization of recognizing

individual and institutional integrity in 2015

saying, “The solutions to corruption are not

foreign but indeed are very local. If we allow

people to speak about INTEGRITY and exude

INTEGRITY then it will promote a new culture of INTEGRITY.”

1.2 The Meaning of the quest to reclaim Integrity- Father Gaetano

Batanyenda

“To show we are Ugandans we need to put side our political and religious affiliations and work together for a just cause.”

Fr. Batanyenda premised his intervention on the need to rally all Ugandans from all walks of life to play

their part from their areas of influence. He specifically called upon religious leaders to lead the nation in

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Mrs. Keto Nyapendi Kayemba, Assistant

Auditor General “until we see decisive and

more compelling action against corruption,

we shall not rest”

embracing patriotism. He urged them to use their strategic and influential placement in society to

inspire citizens to shun corruption and take all necessary legal measures to expose, combat and

eradicate it in all forms.

He stirred citizens towards the need for a daily, purposeful declaration of responsibility towards

restoring the dignity of Uganda. This was done through the pronouncement of a vibrant statement,

“Uganda my country, Uganda your country, Uganda our country and our duty!”

2. HIGH LEVEL OPENING CEREMONY

2.1 Statement by the Chief Guest- The Assistant Auditor General, Mrs. Keto

Nyapendi Kayemba

“Ethics are fundamental in delivering public

resources and handling responsibilities without

looking at personal gains and benefits,” remarked

Assistant Auditor General of Uganda Mrs. Keto

Nyapendi Kayemba, in her inaugural speech to

officially launch the 4th Annual National Anti

Corruption Convention 2014.

In her statement, Mrs. Kayemba assured

participants of the commitment to integrity at the

Office of the Auditor General (OAG). She

emphasized the need for outright action to restore

integrity to society despite the blatant challenge

being raised against it on a daily basis across

Uganda’s social, economic and political spheres.

She lauded the Government of Uganda for supporting the activities of the OAG throughout the year.

According to Ms. Nyapendi, the fact that 80% of special audit requests are made by government shines

a glimmer of hope in the willingness of the regime to address corruption internally. She cited the

provision of new premises for the OAG at the “Audit House” as a great sign of commitment to

accountability by the government and pledged the OAG’s dedication to exclusively use the facility to

streamline efforts to eradicate corruption in Uganda.

She stressed that the OAG has been keen on developing structures to facilitate the exposure and

eradication of corruption, starting with the Anti Corruption Strategy 2013. She informed the

participants that the strategy facilitated the installation of a functional Anti Corruption Court, which is

but one of the anti corruption agencies whose operations are fully supported by the formulation of

enabling laws and increased budgets.

She hailed efforts by other government Offices to fight corruption, and cited the Integrity Clubs set up

by the Directorate of Ethics and Integrity, as well as the Inspector General of Government as useful

platforms for integrated action against corruption between civil society organizations and the

government. She therefore urged CSOs to utilize the platforms fully in 2015.

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Mrs. Kayemba recognized the efforts of the Black Monday Movement in constantly utilizing the media

as a platform to turn the public agenda towards resolving the national problem of corruption and called

on citizens to identify and address the root causes of corruption in order to effectively eradicate the

vice from society.

She identified ‘lack of nationalism’ and ‘a seared moral conscience’ as the top tier reasons for

immorality in society and urged citizens to increase platforms of discussion about integrity across the

country in order to address these key issues. Mrs. Kayemba further challenged all Ugandans to play

their part through discussion and practice of a high level of integrity. This, she said, shall ensure that all

public funds are used for development.

She urged all citizens to instill godly principles of good ethics in children, arguing that in preparation

for the excavation of national oil resources in 2017, the nation must prioritize ethical behavior and

practice among the young people to ensure the sustainability of the resource and its benefit toward the

citizens of Uganda. In her words, “It is now that we have less that we need to prepare as many people

as possible to know the importance of doing away with the practice of corruption.”

She ended by reinforcing a plea for the NGO fraternity to work closely with the government in 2015 to

build strong systems based on integrity; and advised citizens at district levels to utilize the expanding

services of the OAG regional offices in Mbale, Soroti and Kabale districts to report all cases of

corruption and embrace a culture of zero tolerance for corruption.

.

2.2 Plenary

The following are recommendations to improve the performance of the OAG. These include;

Expedite Delayed Audit Reports

Participants expressed concerns about the apparent lack of urgency at the OAG in conducting audits

and disseminating reports from specific sectors of the economy such as the Agriculture and Works

sectors. Therefore OAG was charged with preparing and disseminating all pending audit reports on

agriculture and works related issues by 2017

Improve Partnership between the Parliament and the OAG

The support rendered to the OAG by the Uganda Parliament also came under scrutiny, with

participants decrying the evident lack of legal backing from the policy-making arm of the government

in the fight against corruption. The expedited enactment of a Public Finance Act was strongly

recommended as the way forward for establishing necessary, sustainable structures in the fight against

corruption.

Audit Classified Government Expenditures

In support of the Transparency initiative, participants highlighted the need for public awareness on

confidential expenses by the government, arguing that all tax-payers money ought to be accounted for.

The OAG was further charged with creating committees to audit classified expenditures in

government.

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Dr. Ngabirano Maximiano

condemned the act of privatizing

public properties as an inefficient

tool for eradicating corruption

2.3 Key Note Address - Dr. Ngabirano Maximiano Director School of

Diplomacy, Governance and International Studies- Uganda Martyrs

University Nkozi

"Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts... perhaps the fear of a loss of power." ― John Steinbeck, American author

In his key note address, Dr. Ngabirano held neo colonialism responsible for corruption in Uganda. He

mourned the loss of socialism in Uganda, which he hailed as a unifying factor that previously prevented

Ugandans from misusing communal resources and criticized the Ugandan governments for handing

down a legacy of capitalism from the colonialism era, which has promoted gross misuse of public

resources for individual gain.

He urged the current government to consult African nationalistic ideologies, which fostered the

establishment of strong economies in East Africa, in order to reinsert a sense of patriotism in both the

leadership and citizenry and cultivate a culture of integrity and zero tolerance for corruption in every

sector of the nation’s economy.

He informed participants that just as colonialism spread across the traditional kingdoms of Uganda

through bribes and divisive politics, the current under handed methods of governance spreading across

the leadership offices in Uganda seek to perpetuate the same principles, thus undermining the ultimate

principle of integrity in society. He thus urged Ugandans to fight the same mindset, which he said is

detrimental to the rights and needs of the common man.

Dr. Ngabirano called for citizens across Uganda to move

beyond simply discussing corruption towards the

elimination its root cause. In his opinion, the use of

intimidating, perpetual military rule by the government,

which is based on a gross desire for power, is the basis of a

weak accountability system that supports corruption. In this

regard, he urged Ugandans to advocate for the restoration

of Presidential term limits as an act of restoring equality,

and reducing the risk of corruption of office.

He further sought for a national consensus to rebuild the

effectiveness of institutions that originally aimed to promote integrity across all sectors of the economy.

He urged the government and CSOs to monitor service providers in the education, health and other

service sectors in order to curb the corrupt practices, such as placing charges on free services and poor

education in public schools, among others.

Furthermore, he condemned the act of privatizing public properties as an inefficient tool for

eradicating corruption, which is based on a false theory that private institutions are unaffected by

corruption. He thus urged the government of Uganda to reinforce systems of monitoring corruption at

10

both public and private levels in order to facilitate stronger cooperation between the two sectors, and

improved management of resources across the board.

He concluded his remarks by calling for individual citizens to pledge to rehabilitate the morals of every

sector of Uganda’s economy by refusing to take part in bribes or any other appearance of corruption.

He also urged Ugandan citizens to join the fight against corruption by pledging membership to just

causes across the nation in form of youth groups and CSOs.

2.4 Plenary

The following were the key actions proposed by participants in the fight against theft of public funds in

Uganda. These include;

Create Clear Whistle-blower Platforms

It was agreed that the judicial system in Uganda should be audited for corruption in order to establish

the effectiveness of “whistle blowing” platforms. This was in response to participant queries about the

existent institutional and legal structures in place to tackle corruption, with concerns being raised about

the effectiveness of platforms for ‘whistle blowers.’

Cultivate a Culture of Intolerance

A strong culture of intolerance needs to be nurtured among Ugandan citizens in order to provoke

necessary actions to permanently eradicate corruption from society. This was agreed upon as a result of

queries into the true purpose of the principle of intolerance, which though promoted by anti-

corruption activists, often appears to destabilize peace.

Constitutional Reform is Inadequate

Participants also agreed that Ugandans ought to shun military rule in order to rebuild confidence and

strengthen systems of accountability and punishment for corrupt behavior. Focus ought to shift from

constitutional reform to the reinforcement of systems for regime change if a sustainable solution is to

be established for the crime of corruption.

3. SHARING EXPERIENCES ON THE FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION AND BUILDING INTEGRITY.

3.1 Community Participatory Integrity Campaign-Uganda National NGO

Forum

The Community Participatory Integrity Campaign conducted by the UNNGOF in 2014 aimed to

celebrate the positive value of integrity in society and change the narrative from one highlighting

corrupt officials to one celebrating officials with high moral standing. Through community meetings in

both rural and peri urban communities across 10 districts in Uganda that included; Arua, Bushenyi,

Jinja, Kaberamaido, Kalangala, Lira, Luwero,Masindi, Pader and Soroti. Overall, 1800 Ugandan citizens

were reached through the campaign.

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Nickson Ogwal giving experience from the

anti-corruption caravan

“The young generation needs to grow up with a term that defines integrity; not corruption”-Ms. Sophie Kange, UNNGOF

The campaign identified a common thread binding

the definition of integrity across all communities.

The communities agreed on a number of key

integrity actions as criteria for selecting integrity

icons. These included: Trustworthy, God-fearing,

transparency, accountability, faithful and

caring.The discussions across the board

encouraged communities to focus on inculcating a

culture of celebrating good deeds instead of

magnifying negative behaviour.

3.2 Anti Corruption Caravan-Action Aid International Uganda

‘Only purposeful action by each Citizen shall effectively eradicate corruption.’ Mr. Nickson Ogwal, Action Aid Uganda

The Anti-Corruption Caravan transverse 10 districts in Eastern Uganda namely; Kotido, Abim, Soroti,

Katakwi, Kumi, Bukedea, Kapchorwa, Mbale, Tororo, Namutumba, Palisa and Iganga. The purpose of

the caravan was to deepen grassroots outreach, identify Icons of Integrity at regional level and generate

region specific issues to inform the national events.

Throughout its interactions with the Citizens,

Action Aid Uganda was able to identify a

number of issues on corruption highlighted by

the grassroots communities, namely:

• A collective frustration and discomfort

with the status quo, especially in regard

to lackluster interventions from

development partners in eradicating

corruption. Citizens from the regions

covered by the caravan expressed

dissatisfaction with partners who simply

engaged them in talks, and not actual

solutions to the issue. They pledged their support in 2015 to institutions which propose tangible

solutions to the problem.

• An immense gap in leadership, which facilitates the continued operation of corrupt systems of

management at the district level. Communities requested for the design of interventions to

address corruption spanning the most basic unit of society (family) to the highest office in the

land (President).

• Increased awareness about corruption. Communities throughout the areas of focus were aware

of most of the cases of corruption that the Black Monday Movement identified in their midst.

12

Justus Ashaba from Africa Freedom of

Information Centre

Heightened confidence among the local communities. Whereas the caravan uncovered corrupt

systems that were heavily laced with intimidation practice across the board, the communities

that were recipients of the underhand politicking were found to be more zealous for change

than prone to cowardice and fear.

Action Aid Uganda therefore recommends a number of interventions in 2015, in light of the new

developments throughout the communities in Uganda, that shall aid in the reinforcement of the goals

of the Black Monday Movement across the nation. These include:

• Increased individual responsibility to follow up tax payers’ money. All citizens are encouraged

to meet their obligations by following up the use of their taxes by the government.

• Further mobilization of people to conduct specific actions to eradicate corruption in their

communities. Initiatives to increase awareness among a broader spectrum of the population

ought to support the building of a consensus around the issues to follow up on.

Elevation of the citizen’s voices across the nation. The naturalization of platforms to name and

shame corrupt officials will help to rebirth the element of ‘People Power’, which is the true

backbone of a functional democratic system of governance.

3.3 Access to Information-Africa Freedom of Information Centre

The right to information is a guiding principle for

participatory democracies since only an informed

Population can effectively contribute to the

construction of governments and political

institutions. People need information to be able to

adequately express themselves on matters of

governance, holding leaders accountable, influencing

service delivery and decision–making and to

promote and protect their human rights.

AFIC through its interventions focused on the promotion of access to information on public projects

in the districts of Bushenyi, Iganga and Masaka. Some of the key successes of the project included;

In Bushenyi district, an information request filed by a community group resulted in the exposure of huge corruption in which the district had allegedly spent a billion shillings to build a “ghost” stadium. Following this exposure, the District Chairperson lost elections.

In Iganga district, a request for information about construction of a VIP latrine at a public school that had stalled for two years resulted in the work restarting immediately following the request.

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“I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet”- Mahatma Gandhi,

Indian freedom fighter

The participant submitting that a system of free and fair elections should be instituted at district level

In Masaka district, an information request filed at Mpugwe Health Centre led to disclosure of information about medicine delivery and resolved the long standing problem of lack of medicines at the health centre.

4. EMERGING ISSUES FROM THE PARALLEL SESSIONS This section focused on the key resolutions from the different parallel sessions as these informed the communiqué.

4.1 Promoting Integrity in Communities

In January 2014, UNNGOF and ACTIONAID INTERNATIONAL UGANDA and other partners in

civil society initiated the integrity campaign as a step towards a collective national discussion around

integrity and actions to promote it at various levels.

As part of the campaign, Uganda National NGO Forum and Action Aid International Uganda

convened a session that fostered discussions around understanding the importance of community

participation in fighting corruption in Uganda through their own forums at district level and building a

network of honest communities to protect public resources for their common benefit.

The Participants in the session agreed to the

following as critical actions in promoting

integrity in communities;

The media should be used widely as a

tool to train citizens to identify and

report corrupt activities; and to prepare

them to elect uncorrupt leaders, in

preparation for the 2016 presidential

elections.

Religious and cultural leaders should

spearhead the process of mentoring

society in integrity so as to highlight the social and cultural norms that enrich the process of

attaining a society steeped in integrity.

A system of free and fair elections should be instituted at district level to govern the

appointment of members of the District Integrity Forums. This will go a long way in ensuring

14

Mr. Lawrence Ssemakula from Ministry of

Finance

the constitution of an independent commission to address issues of corruption in public offices

at community level.

As part of the session, Senior Citizens had an opportunity to share perspectives on the virtue of

integrity and corruption in society; Mr. Segujja George, a retired headteacher from Luwero asserted

that “People seem to be forgetting about culture and pushing it to the background, yet it has always helped us to learn

about mutual respect for both people and property. We must consult our cultural roots if we want to revive the virtue of

integrity!”

Mr. Ssuuna Moses Richard, a retired teacher from luwero added the element of respect.

“The problem is that people don’t respect one another. If we all respected each other then we wouldn’t be here discussing the

absence of integrity as a societal problem. Every Ugandan needs to learn to love others just as much as they love themselves

before we can expect corruption to exit our nation.”

4.2 Financing in the Accountability Sector in Uganda

The session was convened by the Forum for Women in Democracy and the Civil Society Budget

Accountability Group and reflected on financing the accountability sector in Uganda.

In his presentation, Mr. Lawrence Ssemakula, the

Accountant General -Ministry of Finance noted

that, over the recent past, a number of legal,

institutional and operational reforms have been

undertaken to enhance accountability systems,

strengthen the oversight functions and streamline

public financial management processes. Despite

this commendable progress, there are a number of

challenges and these include; inadequate planning,

low revenue mobilization, low levels of

compliance, inadequate monitoring and

supervision, laxity in implementation of

recommendation of over sight agencies, inadequate resource allocation, low levels of service delivery

deterioration in budget credibility and predictability, low public demand for accountability and high

levels of corruption. Nevertheless he noted that the current environment coupled with renewed

commitment by government to good governance presents opportunities for the accountability sector to

operate more efficiently and effectively to meet its objectives. He commended the Black Monday

Movement for increasing information and exposing corruption vice in the country.

In his remarks, the representative from CSBAG highlighted their success in enhancing citizen’s public

budget literacy and increasing public access to budget-related information. Furthermore Civil Society

Organizations also highlighted some challenges facing their efforts in budget advocacy throughout

2014 including; an ever narrowing CSO space for sharing findings from the grassroots; limited capacity

to conduct widespread advocacy initiatives and; limited membership to the accountability sector

working group.

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Participants agreed on the following steps forward for 2015 in ensuring the promotion of accountability

throughout all sectors of the economy;

The NGO sector should place emphasis on improving its credibility in the public eye by

“walking the talk” in terms of accountability at organizational levels.

Activities aimed at promoting integrity at all levels of society should be coordinated better in

order to include a greater section of the public in recognizing icons of integrity across the

nation.

In order to promote accountability in the government, the quality of parliamentary reports

should be enhanced by including information that is relevant to the public and helpful for civil

society in improving its advocacy initiatives.

4.3 Social Accountability Models

The Governance, Accountability, Participation and Performance (GAPP) Program of USAID led a

group of participants from the NGO sector, local government representatives, schools, icons of

integrity and

the general

public in

discussions

about

challenges in

corruption at

district level.

The session

aimed to develop acceptable way forward for improving service delivery at local levels.

Participants in the session agreed to the following key resolutions;

Local leader’s performance should be assessed regularly and relevant capacity building initiatives

arranged and implemented in order to strengthen their ability to respond to demands for

service delivery raised by citizens.

The qualification requirements for District Local Council membership should be revised in

order to improve the efficiency of District Local Councils in fulfilling their roles and

responsibilities to the grassroots citizens of Uganda.

Finally, the use of a social accountability approach to involve members of the community in

monitoring and supporting leaders in the implementation of activities at various levels should

be promoted.

4.4 Access to Information through the use of ICT

A group of participants from the media fraternity, government officials, representatives from civil

society and the general public were hosted by the Africa Freedom of Information Centre to a session

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Integrity Icons from different districts being

recognized and celebrated

aimed at introducing them to the portal www.askyourgov.ug. This Information Communication

Technology (ICT) developed by AFIC aims to advance the right to access to information and seeks to

fight corruption by promoting transparency, accountability and good governance.

Participants urged AFIC to simplify the platform and promote inclusiveness of every Ugandan citizen

from every level of society and pointed out the fact that the limited internet coverage across the

country would potentially limit access to essential information by citizens in remote locations.

The discussion culminated in a consensus on particular actions to promote wider spread information

sharing about relevant topics of accountability and integrity as follows;

Journalists should utilize the space allocated to them through mainstream media platforms such

as print and broadcast media to develop informative programmes that increase public

knowledge and understanding of national accountability issues.

The media should enforce their constitutional right and obligation to access all necessary public

information and regularly share it with the citizens of the country in a bid to foster public

participation in accountability.

The media should utilize the AFIC portal www.askyourgov.ug to regularly access various

government offices and initiate key discussions on accountability in order to improve the

quality of information regularly shared with the general public.

The feedback period for government which currently stands at 21 days ought to be reduced in

the coming year to speed up access to information and relevant records by the media, on

corruption.

5. CLOSING SESSION

5.1 Celebrating Icons of Integrity

From Wobulenzi, Bushenyi, Iganga, Bujagali, Kumi districts, hard working public servants were

unanimously voted as pillars of integrity by communities for exhibiting high levels of integrity in the

execution of their daily duties; these local heroes were popularly tagged as ‘Icons of Integrity’ and

throughout the year, they served as a benchmark for effective public service at local level, influencing

other public servants to strive for positive recognition through proper work ethics.

The Icons of Integrity hailed the virtues of

loyalty; love; interpersonal skills; transparency;

accountability; honesty; goodness and; honesty as

the benchmarks for their high standing in society.

An Icon from Kumi informed the convention

that she was honored above other professionals

in her field because she was a “good nurse.”

Through this session, it was evident that the

17

Hon. Justice Geoffrey Kiryabwire giving closing

remarks

citizens of Uganda place more value on reliability in service provision than the mere appearance of

impenetrable structures at all levels of society.

5.2 Presentation of Statement from the 4th Annual National Anti-Corruption

Convention

A Statement iterating citizens’ roles in the 2015 anti-corruption movement was compiled from key

issues raised during the plenary and parallel session discussions. The document summarized the roles of

individuals and groups alike into key action areas including; the need to continue to promote integrity at

all levels as a strategic intervention to eliminate corruption through celebrating and recognizing public

officials serving with integrity right from the grassroots levels to act as role models with a view to

inspiring the younger generation; Demand that Parliament fast –tracks the enactment of the Anti-

Corruption (Amendment) Bill; Advocate for a society that promotes citizen participation and action

where the ‘Citizen is Central’; Continue to advocate that the District Integrity Forums are prioritized in

the district budgets; Promote common values as a nation that will contribute to the reversal of moral

degeneration among others. The communiqué was presented to the convention participants, who

provided feedback, before it was unanimously adopted.3

5.3 Closing Remarks- Hon. Justice Geoffrey Kiryabwire, Judge-Court Of

Appeal And Constitutional Court Of Uganda

“The preservation of a good name is the hallmark of integrity”

The convention was officially closed by Hon. Justice Geoffrey Kiryabwire, a Judge from the Court of

Appeal and Constitutional Court of Uganda. In his remarks, he congratulated the Black Monday

Movement for its commitment and consistency in charting a way forward against corruption in

Uganda. He however noted the need to constantly reevaluate mechanisms for combating corruption in

order to keep them relevant and sustainable.

He pledged the support of the judiciary system in fighting corruption, and urged the Black Monday

Movement to enrich the discussions of Court User Committees, which were installed to facilitate

improved service delivery by the judiciary to Ugandan citizens, by promoting citizen participation

during the Committee meetings. He also called upon all CSOs to revise their programming to include

activities aimed at teaching individuals and institutions across the country about their roles and

responsibilities in ridding society of corruption.

He highlighted the rise of businesses based

solely on profit instead of service delivery as an

imminent threat to the integrity of society. He

labeled such unscrupulous traders ‘professional

conmen’ and called for urgent action to be

taken towards raising the national standard for

identifying cases of corruption. He urged civil

society to focus efforts on exposing the

corruption embedded in particular sections of

3 Detailed Statement attached

18

society, which are associated with wealth and therefore would be forced to maintain their status at the

cost of integrity. In his concluding remarks, Justice Kiryabwire called upon the citizens of Uganda to

shun corruption at all costs, saying, “The cause should urge the nation not to praise the corrupt simply

because they are yet to be caught.”

5.4 Conclusion and Way Forward

The 4th National Anti-Corruption Convention presented an occasion to take stock of civil society

progress in fighting corruption as well as celebrate the achievements of innovative initiatives that have

been implemented in the last year such as the Community Participatory Integrity Campaign; Ask Your

Government; and the Anti-Corruption Caravan. Participants were therefore spurred on towards a

renewed commitment to reinforce the existing strategies and structures in place to establish a new

culture of uprightness at all levels of individual and institutional service across the nation.