Vice President Jessica Alupo has cautioned government ministers leading anti-corruption campaigns against publicly humiliating public officials during inspection exercises, saying the fight against corruption must be conducted within the law and respect constitutional rights.Speaking on Wednesday during a national meeting of district chairpersons, city and municipal speakers, mayors, service commission leaders, chief administrative officers and town clerks in Kampala, Alupo said while corruption must be fought decisively, all investigations should follow due process and uphold the rule of law.
The meeting was held under President Yoweri Museveni’s Kisanja Hakuna Corruption campaign, which aims to strengthen accountability and improve service delivery in local governments.Alupo commended the Ministry of Local Government for intensifying inspections and oversight across local governments, saying the exercises had sent a clear message that misuse of public resources and impunity would no longer be tolerated.”Their inspections, follow-ups, oversight and decisive interventions have sent a strong and timely warning to all leaders that the era of laxity, impunity and misuse of public resources must end, and it must end now,” she said.However, the Vice President stressed that political leaders should not take over the responsibilities of institutions legally mandated to investigate and prosecute corruption cases. She noted that ministers are responsible for policy direction and oversight, while accountability institutions must independently investigate wrongdoing and enforce the law.”In working together, we must respect the boundaries of each institution so that our anti-corruption drive remains effective, lawful and credible,” Alupo said.
She also warned against exposing public officials to public ridicule before investigations are completed, emphasizing that every person is presumed innocent until proven guilty.”The Constitution also requires that every person is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Therefore, we must avoid any practice that exposes individuals to public humiliation before a proper legal process has run its course,” she said.Alupo urged leaders to ensure that efforts to eliminate corruption strengthen, rather than weaken, Uganda’s commitment to justice and fairness.She described corruption as one of the biggest obstacles to Uganda’s socio-economic transformation, noting that local governments are the first point of contact between citizens and government.”For the ordinary Ugandan, government is first felt through local governments. When a health centre lacks medicines, when a borehole breaks down, when a school roof collapses, when a road becomes impassable, or when a citizen is asked to pay a bribe for a public service, it is the local government that the citizen sees first and foremost,” she said.The Vice President called on local governments to improve transparency by making budgets, procurement plans, contract awards, project schedules and performance reports accessible to the public. She said informed citizens play a critical role in monitoring government programmes and promoting accountability.
Alupo also urged district leaders to strengthen supervision of government projects, improve financial discipline, implement audit recommendations and ensure recruitment is based on merit.She reminded public officials that every shilling spent by government belongs to taxpayers and must be accounted for responsibly.”Our people do not need promises. They need results and outcomes that they can see and feel,” she said.She concluded by encouraging districts, cities and municipalities to return from the meeting with practical measures to strengthen oversight, improve service delivery, enhance transparency and accelerate the implementation of government programmes.
