DIV4/6: CORRUPTION

CORRUPTION

This refers to all ways by which people attempt to win favours and other advantages though offering monetary or material benefits to others as a way of biasing them to their benefits.

Causes of Corruption

• Corruption is widely spread today because of economic hardships. Many people earn little wages so it makes it easy for them to accept bribes as a form of corruption.
• Wide spread unemployment in Uganda has made many people desperate so are willing to give in bribes to secure jobs. For instance many graduates from universities are conned of their money by people claiming to connect them to big jobs like in URA.
• The existence of weak laws to deal with corruption in the country has increased corruption cases.
• Corruption is common because the senior officials are noted by junior officials taking bribes and nothing much is done against them as a punishment. For instance during Mobutu Seseseko’s rule it was normal for public funds to disappear in the hands of his ministers and were not questioned.
• The inefficiency of the police to enforce laws has increased corruption. For instance when former vice president Doctor Kazibwe by then minister of agriculture misappropriated funds for valley dams but nobody was arrested and put in jail.
• The punishments given to those who fail to properly account for public funds are lenient which increase corruption in the society. Some of them are not even jailed but given police bond as they go through trial.
• Corruption is pronounced among people who are not sure about job security. For instance officials in URA accept bribes because they know any time they will lose their posts.
• Some people are corrupt because of too much greed for material wealth. For instance Hassan Basajja Balaba and Salim Sale own big businesses/tenders partly through practicing corruption.
• Corruption is wide spread because many people demand for it in order to give you a service . For example electricity supply servers usually demand for transport allowance outside their normal salary.
• Many people become corrupt because they desire certain life styles which they have not yet attained. For instance if one wants to spend life in places like Kampala for bribes at the work place in anyway possible.
• Loss of morals has led to increased spread of corruption in the society. In Uganda people no longer fear to be identified/ arrested because of corruption provided they achieve their goals.
• Delayed payments especially in private businesses have opened u space for corruption. In addition to delayed payment, the police is involved in corruption and some head teachers because of low payments by the concerned authorities.

Dangers/Disadvantages of Corruption

• Corruption is a form of theft and a sin before God. According to exodus 20:15-17, it is like committing an evil of stealing.
• It frustrates the poor and denies justice to them as the rich sometimes offer bribes to judges in courts of law to win cases. This is also against Moses’ teaching noted in Exodus 23:8.
• It damages/ruins the moral standard of the political elite and may culminate into a coup-de-tat in the country . For example recently the president of Burundi was militarily ousted from power partly because of corruption in his government.
• It leads to general feeling of loss of confidence in the country’s leaders and may lead to mass unrest especially if the president does not punish corrupt officials.
• Corruption may establish a negative attitude of workers. Some may decline to do work they are expected to do until a bribe is given to them. For instance, the many police officials cannot allow you open up a file at police station unless you facilitate them.
• Corruption ultimately makes people shade blood because those who engage in crimes get away with it unpunished because of bribes involved. For instance in many cases thieves are taken to police cells but because of corruption are released within 48 hours.
• Corruption has widened the gap between the rich and the poor and frustrated government efforts to alleviate rural poverty . That is to say, many district officials misappropriate funds meant to develop villages.
• High corruption tendencies in the country can lead to donor states to refuse grant aid. For instance president Moi’s government and currently Robert Mugabe’s government of Zimbabwe cannot easily get aid from donor countries like USA and Britain because of high levels of corruption.
• Corruption undermines government efforts to collect taxes and this makes it hard to finance the country’s budget. For example the Entandikwa scheme collapsed because people were misusing the initial capital for personal benefits instead of notational purposes.
• Corruption undermines a person’s standard in the society since he/she will be looked at as a thief. For example David Chandi Jamwa of NSSF was arrested because of misusing workers’ money and selling bonds at a low fee as was anticipated.

Solutions

• Prompt payment should be made just as professor Nsibambi once as a minister of public service suggested that civil servants should be paid by 28^th of every month.
• The government should pay the workers a living wage so that they are not tempted to ask for bribes.
• Public servants should declare their assets and liabilities so that those with ill gotten wealth will get exposed. This is why usually members of parliament and ministers have a time of declaring their wealth.
• The president should politically and economically stabilize the country to fight corruption for example by avoiding civil wars and providing more jobs opportunities.
• A stiff anti-corruption law should be enacted to deal with corruption in public offices.
• Serious penalties should be put over convicted corrupt officials . For example 10 years imprisonment and above plus paying heavy fines exceeding what they took.
• The government should increase the employment opportunities in the country by building more factories, hospitals and many others to help loosen people who demand for bribes from those seeking for jobs which are rare.
• Routine transfer of workers at least not exceeding 5 years in one place should be exercised in order to check on officials like police officers who ask for bribes to help their customers as the station almost becomes his personal business.
• The press should be given opportunity without intimidation to air out officials in the government who are implicated of corruption tendencies.
• The government leaders like ministers should serve as examples of transparency so that their juniors fall suit.
• The government should also refrain from interfering with the operations of the police and judiciary to fight corruption. It annoys sometimes that the president also interferes in decision making of some judges in courts of law.
• The public should be sensitized on the menace of corruption so that ordinary man can work with the officials like the police and IGGs to fight corruption.