{UAH} Corruption finishing us - Kasaija-finally ,they accepted but after eating so much!
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TUESDAY FEBRUARY 27 2018
Corruption finishing us - Kasaija
Recognised: Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga receives an award from Mr Kasaija at the opening of the regional Auditor Generals conference in Kampala yesterday. Right is deputy Secretary to the Treasury, Mr Patrick Ocailap. PHOTO BY STEPHEN WANDERA
Finance minister Matia Kasaija yesterday admitted that corruption is eating up the country and called for a concerted effort to end it.
His comments come on the backdrop of last week's Transparency International annual global corruption index report that ranked Uganda among the most corrupt countries in the world.
Mr Kasaija admitted that the corruption is exacerbated by those who want to get rich quickly.
The minister singled out his own ministry where funds are budgeted and channelled to other ministries and government departments but end up being abused.
"In my ministry, I see weaknesses where money is quickly dispatched to somebody and with the introduction of the electronic funds transfer system, money moves very fast. People are hacking into our systems to steal but good enough, we are now alert," he said yesterday.
Last week, the Ethics minister, Rev Fr Simon Lokodo, accused Transparency International of producing 'biased' reports that portray Uganda as a corrupt country.
Asked whether his admission is not a direct contradiction to the rebuttal by the Ethics minister, Mr Kasaija said there was no contradiction, adding he is only highlighting the fact that corruption exists and more needs to be done to combat it.
The minister acknowledged that the country is still a long way in eliminating corruption because of weaknesses in the systems.
"Systems allow stealing money because there is a weakness somewhere. Because this animal of corruption is a huge one, it must be handled from various angles. All of us must work as a team," he added.
He admitted that although the money is released by his ministry, they do not have the capacity to monitor its use up to the last bit.
"What I don't know is what happens when money goes to the spending agencies because at the ministry of Finance, we only wait to hear from the Auditor General," he said.
He said it is not only the responsibility of the government to fight corruption but that everyone must be involved.
"Even the citizens, if you see something wrong, report it. You know me I am an NRM cadre; when we were in our struggle fighting to put this country right, we were supposed to be the cadres of the movement not to divert from the principles of the party but unfortunately, we are not many and many of us are disappearing. Fighting corruption should not be left to the government alone," the minister said.
Mr Kasaija was addressing journalists in Kampala shortly after the opening of the ongoing Eastern and Southern Africa Association of Auditor Generals at Imperial Resort Beach Hotel in Entebbe.
The five-day annual conference brings together auditor generals from 14 countries in Eastern and Southern Africa to chat a way forward on how to coordinate their activities, share experiences and learn best practices.
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