Members of the Leadership Code Tribunal (LCT) on March 7, 2023 submitted their declarations for income, assets and liabilities to the Inspectorate of Government (IG).

The LCT team was led by the chairperson Dr. Roselyn Karugonjo-Segawa and accompanied by the other four members; Mr. Asuman Kiyingi, Ms. Jane Okelowange, Mr. Didas Bakunzi Mufasha and Ms. Joyce Nalunga Birimumaaso.

LCT is a government institution, established under Article 235A of the 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda as amended and Section 19A of the Leadership Code (Amendment) Act 2017.

It is charged with the overall function of enforcement of the Leadership Code of Conduct particularly through adjudication of breaches of the Code.

The declaration by LCT members was witnessed by the two Deputy Inspectors General of Government (DIGGs); Dr. Patricia Achan Okiria and Ms. Anne Twinomugisha Muhairwe. They were accompanied by other IG officials including the Director of Leadership Code Mr. Joram Magezi.

Dr. Okiria thanked the LCT team for being exemplary by declaring their incomes, assets and liabilities to the IG.

“We would like to thank the team from the Leadership Code Tribunal for setting a good example. We launched this declaration exercise in Lira City on March 1, 2023. It is one of the ways of holding leaders accountable because we have to see if what they have declared is commensurate with what they earn,” Dr Okiria said.

On her part, Dr. Karugonjo congratulated the IG on successfully launching the declaration exercise of Leaders 2023 and pledged the tribunal’s full support to ensure that it is successful.

“We have come here to declare our incomes, assets and liabilities to the IG. We call upon all leaders to heed this constitutional requirement because failure to do so will attract serious sanctions. I would also like to applaud IG for their innovativeness in the online declaration system,” she said.

The declaration of income, assets and liabilities for leaders for this year was launched in Lira City by the Third Deputy Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. Rukia Isanga Nakadama. The exercise will close on March 31st at Midnight.

The Inspector General of Government (IGG) Hon. Beti Kamya Turwomwe has tasked Chief Administrative Officers (CAOs) to fight corruption in their respective districts since they have instruments of power.

“I am putting a lot of responsibility on the shoulders of CAOs because they not only manage the money but also the instruments of power in Local Governments,” the IGG said.

The IGG made the clarion call on March 3, 2023 while meeting CAOs at Hotel Africana in Kampala.

She noted that most public facilities in Local Governments collapse because CAOs use less money than what they received and then falsify accountabilities to cover up their fraud.

“As a result, citizens end up getting poor schools and hospitals due to corruption. But when we trail the money, it comes back to the CAOs. Surely, when will this country ever develop with such a mentality of mismanaging resources? CAOs, you are in the thick of this sad story,” she said.

She warned CAOs against being used by technocrats from the Central Government, saying that no one should intimidate and force them to divert funds since they already have the instruments of power.

One of the strategies to fight corruption this year, the IGG said, is the involvement of the citizens because they are the real victims of the vice.

“Corruption has been fought in the boardrooms and conferences for too long. No wonder it’s not going away because it’s an elitist war not a citizen’s war. We plan to train Ugandans to be watchdogs by taking interest in all government financial releases and report any suspicious activities done by public officers,” she revealed.

However, she said that the IG would still use the conventional ways of fighting corruption through investigations, prosecutions and interdictions.

She tasked citizens to be each other’s keeper and watch over them when it comes to misusing public resources.

But CAOs expressed concern over discrimination, citing salary disparities between them and accounting officers in the Central Government.

The Tororo District CAO, Mr. Gabriel Atam, requested the IGG to convey their dissatisfaction to H.E. the President.

“People at the centre are only making policies and stop there but it’s the CAOs who are doing the real job of implementation yet our salaries are meagre. This perhaps explains why some CAOs divert funds meant for public facilities,” he said.

The IGG noted that whereas CAOs raised valid concerns of meagre salaries, they should desist from diverting public funds.

She encouraged CAOs to report corruption cases to the IG so that they can get 5% of the stolen money in case it is recovered as provided for in the Whistleblowers Protection Act.

The 3rd Deputy Premier, Rt. Hon. Rukia Nakadama on March 1, 2023 launched the declaration period of income, assets and liabilities for Leaders in Lira City.

The exercise was launched under the theme: “Asset declarations; a tool for accountability to the citizens”. It will run from 1st March, 2023 and close on 31st March, 2023.

Rt. Hon. Nakadama, who submitted her online declaration, pledged her support towards ensuring that enabling laws and resources are available to the IG to do its work diligently.

Articles 233 (2) and 234 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda and Section 4 of the Leadership Code Act, 2002 require leaders specified under the Second Schedule of the Act to declare to the Inspectorate of Government (IG) their income, assets and liabilities every two years in the month on March.

The previous declaration was done in March 2021.

Leaders are submitting their declarations online using the Inspectorate of Government Online Declaration System (IG-ODS), which is accessible on the IG website www.igg.go.ug

A leader who breaches the Code shall be investigated by the Inspectorate of Government and prosecuted before the Leadership Code Tribunal.

However, those who fall under the category of Public Officers are also supposed to declare following an amendment in the Leadership Code Act in 2021.

Public Officers are all those people, other than Leaders whose salaries are paid from the Consolidated Fund.

They are required to declare their income, assets and liabilities within 3 months after being appointed to a government job and thereafter every five years in the month of April.

This means that the next declaration period for Public Officers will be in April 2026.

The Inspector General of Government (IGG) Hon. Beti Kamya Turwomwe has announced the 2023 roadmap for the next declaration of income, assets, and liabilities of Leaders.

The IGG made the revelation during a press conference at Uganda Media Centre on February 21, 2023.

She said that this year’s declaration exercise will be launched on Wednesday, 1st March, 2023 in Lira City and will be presided over by the Deputy Speaker of Parliament Rt. Hon. Thomas Tayebwa, who will in effect be the first declarant this declaration year.

The exercise will run from 1st March 2023 and will close on 31st March, 2023 at midnight.

“Please take serious note that there is no provision in the law to extend this period. Therefore any leader who will not have declared by 31st March 2023 will be in violation of the law,” the IGG warned. The IGG noted that Articles 223 (2) and 234 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda and section 4 of the Leadership Code Act require political leaders and appointed leaders specified under the Second Schedule Part A and the Third Schedule Part A and Part B of the Leadership Code Act, 2002, amended in 2021 to declare to the Inspectorate of Government (IG) their income, assets and liabilities every two years in the month of March.

The previous declaration was done in March 2021.

However, this year’s declaration is only meant for Leaders and not for Public Officers.

The category of Leaders include elected political leaders from LC3 upwards to the President, people appointed by the President for instance, Permanent Secretaries, Heads of Public Institutions, Board Members of Public Institutions and Executive Leaders of registered political parties among others.

Public Officers are also supposed to declare but under a different legal provision. Public Officers are all those people, other than Leaders whose salaries are paid from the Consolidated Fund.

“For this category, the law requires that they declare their income, assets and liabilities within 3 months after being appointed to a government job and thereafter every five years in the month of April. So the next declaration for Public Officers will be in April 2026. But for clarity, only those Leaders specified under the schedule are required to declare starting from 1st to 31st March 2023,” the IGG said.

The IGG said that declarations will be submitted digitally using the IG-Online Declaration System (IG-ODS) which will be opened on 1st March 2023 and closed on 31st March 2023 at midnight.

“In case a declarant needs help, they should seek the support of the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer or Inspectorate of Government Regional Office or selected people in all Government Institutions called Focal Persons who have been trained to use the IG-ODS,” she said.

She also emphasised the fact that there are serious sanctions under the law for non-declaration, over declaration, falsification of facts and anticipatory declaration of income, assets and liabilities.

The sanctions for breach of the Code include fines, warning, caution, demotion, and dismissal from office, vacation of office, and confiscation and forfeiture of illicitly acquired assets, gifts or benefits to the Government.

The Inspectorate of Government has released a roadmap where over 24,000 Leaders are expected to submit their declarations of Income, Assets and Liabilities to the Inspectorate of Government from 1st - 31st March, 2023 at midnight.

Read the roadmap below:

The Inspector General of Government, Hon. Beti Kamya Turwomwe, has said Mr. Richard Byarugaba, the former NSSF Managing Director and indeed all suspects into the NSSF saga will be summoned to make a statement at a convenient time.

The IGG in a media statement, says preliminary investigations are still being conducted, adding that "we don't always begin by inviting the main suspect."

This follows Mr. Byarugaba's concern, while appearing before Parliament's Select Committee probing the NSSF saga, that the IGG was yet to summon him amid all allegations that had been thrown at him.

The Inspector General of Government (IGG) Hon. Beti Kamya Turwomwe has proposed that members nominated to the District Service Commissions (DSC) first undergo a due diligence vetting exercise before being submitted to the District Councils for endorsement.

The IGG noted that the move is aimed at reducing corruption amid increased allegations of sale of jobs to unsuspecting members of the public by DSCs.

She was addressing Journalists at the Inspectorate of Government (IG) head office in Kampala on January 31, 2023.

“Currently, the District Chairperson nominates names to the DSC and submits them to the District Council for endorsement. The practice is that once the District Chairperson takes care of the interests of all stakeholders in this matter then endorsement is guaranteed. And usually, merit is the least of anybody’s concern. The IG has already written to the Public Service Commission proposing an engagement to discuss the matter,” the IGG said.

The IGG’s revelation was triggered by the Presidential directive made on January 26, 2023 to all District Internal Security Officers (DISOs) and Criminal Investigations Directorate (CIDs) to swing into action and arrest district officials who are allegedly selling jobs.

H.E President Yoweri Museveni, who was officiating at the 37th NRM Day celebrations in Kakumiro district, also noted that he had heard of girls being allegedly sexually exploited for jobs.

“I have heard the bazukkulu [youth] crying about DSCs selling local government jobs. I have heard of girls being exploited sexually for jobs. Get evidence, please, devoted members of the public and we expunge and roast those pigs,” the President was quoted by the New Vision Newspaper.

He added: “The DISOs and the CIDs should also be on notice. How does such corruption go on in your area and you do not know or, if you know, you do not report?”

The IGG expressed concern that apart from the injustice of denying a person of merit the opportunity to serve this country, there is the great danger of littering the public service with human resource of low caliber which in turn leads to incompetence, inefficiency, non-performance, loss of public funds, poor service delivery and poverty.

She revealed that the IG has over the years investigated and given orders, recommendations and sanctions to address this grave evil to the country, adding that the matter is currently being addressed at the highest political and administrative level.

For instance, she said that there is an ongoing prosecution of the Mitooma DSC, and the disbanding of the Rakai DSC on the basis of alleged corruption as per the IG report.

The IG had also started engaging DSCs and had actually done Kabarole, Jinja and Masaka districts, to discuss issues of rampant corruption in recruitment of staff for District Local Governments but the exercise was interrupted by the Covid-19 lockdown.

However, the IGG said that plans are in high gear to revive the engagements so as to change the mindset of DSC officials and combat corruption.

“We thank those members of the public who raised these matters with relevant authorities, in particular to the IG and those Bazukkulu who brought the matter to the attention of His Excellency the President. That is the way to fight graft, corruption, abuse of office and authority and violation of the laws of this country. Expose them with evidence,” she said.

The common breaches in the recruitments handled by the DSCs include nepotism/conflict of interest, extortion/bribery/ring-fencing of jobs, recruitment of non-qualified candidates and irregular composition of DSCs.

Others are; external interference in the recruitment process especially by political leaders and top technical staff, recruitment of staff with forged academic documents and deliberate poor record keeping by DSCs, which makes supervision and auditing of their performance difficult.

The Director Anti-Corruption, in the IG Mr. Simon Kajura Ogwal, said that the directorate has successfully handled a number of corruption cases in DSCs with serious measures being undertaken.

“We have intervened in a number of occasions in DSCs where malpractices are made during recruitment and some of the culprits have been prosecuted in the Anti-Corruption case. We will continue doing our best to ensure that there is rule of law in this country and also ensure that corruption is eliminated. We call upon members of the public not to keep quiet but speak up about these issues and we can assure them that they will be protected under the Whistleblowers Protection Act,” he said.

The Inspector General of Government (IGG) Hon. Beti Kamya Turwomwe on January 13, 2023 submitted the Inspectorate of Government’s (IG) Budget Framework Paper (BFP) to the Legal and Parliamentary Committee of Parliament of Uganda.

She was flanked by the Deputy IGG Mrs Anne Twinomugisha Muhairwe and some of the technical staff of IG including Directors and Managers.

The IGG told legislators that the IG’s proposed allocation in the next Financial Year (FY2023/24) is UGX88.576B.

The allocation will be distributed as follows: Wage UGX27.953B, Non-Wage UGX36.026B and Development UGX24.597B.

The IGG also revealed that the allocations are projected to increase to UGX 90.558 Billion in FY 2024/25, UGX 106.210 Billion FY 2025/26, UGX 138.093 in FY 2026/27 and 138.093 in FY 2027/28.

According to the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) reports for 2020 and 2021, the corruption indices for Uganda have stagnated. Uganda was ranked 142nd with a score of 27 (with 0 being highly corrupt and 100 highly clean) in 2020, as compared to 2021 where it ranks 144th with the same score, out of 180 countries.

However, the IGG noted that the Inspectorate will continue to focus on preventive measures throughout the Medium Term so as to reduce the cost of corruption especially the indirect corruption hence improving the CPI.

“This will further be accompanied with deterrence approaches namely investigation, prosecution and recovering proceeds of corruption. The IG will rebrand the fight against corruption by empowering and encouraging the citizens to despise and avoid corruption,” she said.

To achieve this year’s targets, the IG will pursue various strategies including grassroot mobilization, engagement with stakeholders, reduce the turnaround time of conducting investigations and improving the visibility of the Ombudsman function.

Others are; prosecution of corruption cases, strengthening the recovery of proceeds of corruption, and enforcement of the Leadership Code of Conduct among others.

The IG will also develop and enforce service delivery standards, enforce compliance to the rules and regulations, review the existing legal, policy, regulatory and institutional frameworks to standardize regulation and benefits in the public service so as to achieve the National Development Plan III strategic objective.

The MPs thanked the IGG for spearheading the fight against corruption and the effort which the Inspectorate is making to recover stolen taxpayers’ money from thieving officials.

But they asked the IGG to not only focus on eliminating corruption but also focus on the core function of the Inspectorate which is ensuring strict adherence to the rule of law and principles of natural justice.

“We appreciate what you are doing but you seem to be focused more on fighting corruption yet the IG Act clearly stipulates that the core function of the Inspectorate is enforcing rule of law. Where is this reflected in your budget framework?” Bugiri Municipality MP Hon. Asuman Basalirwa asked.

The IGG explained to the MPs that the Inspectorate is committed to enforcing the law, adding that elimination and fighting corruption comes at the tail-end of the IG’s mandate.

Bughendera County MP (Bundibugyo District) Hon. Acrobert Kiiza Moses implored the IGG to pick interest in the payrolls of districts saying that most schools have ghost teachers.

The Inspector General of Government (IGG) Hon. Beti Kamya Turwomwe has launched a Follow-up Unit in the Inspectorate of Government.

The six-member Unit will be responsible for following up and ensuring that all that all Inspectorate of Government (IG) Recommendations and Court Orders arising out of IG prosecutions are implemented.

The Unit will be headed by Mr Victor Acidri, who is at the rank of Manager and will report directly to the IGG.

The other members of the Unit include Mr Simon Ariko, Ms Zawedde Jemimah, Ms Juliana Nantale Batte, Mr Winfred Gumisiriza and Ms Diana Nakkazi Mirembe.

The IGG noted that the members of the Unit were carefully selected based on competence, hard work, and integrity and incorruptibility.

She asked members of the public, especially public officers and political leaders who have been ordered either by the IG or Court to perform any function arising out of IG investigations to report to the follow-up team and update their records.

“Some people were ordered to refund money in a given period, some were ordered to fire, interdict, suspend, demote, transfer or warn suspects but they did not. Some people were ordered to confiscate, caveat or dispose of property, some were ordered to report back to the IG on actions taken, many of these people, mainly public servants, have ignored the orders because there was no follow-up mechanism,” she said.

She added, “If you fall in any of the above categories, you are advised to report to the IG Follow-Up Unit and update your response to the orders in a period not exceeding two months from today, after which names of debtors and defaulters will be published in the media and vigorous collection done at the defaulters’ cost.”

Public officers who do not carry out IG Recommendations or Court Orders arising out of IG prosecutions will be charged with incompetence, insubordination, neglect of duty, abuse of office or abuse of authority.

The Inspectorate of Government (IG) has commenced training of Focal Persons on the Inspectorate of Government Online Declaration System (IG-ODS) Leader Register ahead of the next declaration of income, assets and liabilities scheduled for March 2023.

The training was opened by the Deputy Inspector General of Government (DIGG) Dr. Patricia Achan Okiria on December 13 2022.

The training seeks to enhance the capacity of Focal Persons and enlighten them on how to help public servants in various Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the government to submit their declarations.

“The Inspectorate will start with clearing the ground through training of stakeholders and data clean up to ensure that the register of leaders is correctly updated to reflect the various changes in the deployment and employment of those that have been leaders,” Dr. Okiria told the Focal Persons.

During the training, Focal Persons will be taken through the legal framework governing declarations, a step by step practical on the IG-ODS as a system, its communication tools comprising the various platforms for supporting the receipt and submission of declarations and their role as Focal Persons.

“The IG-ODS being an online based system has had several improvements such as self-invitation and leaders support systems. These developments require the public sensitisation to enable the different users to appreciate the system. We hope to take you through all the new changes to assist you and those you will be helping to sail through successfully,” she said.

The IG is mandated under Articles 225(d) and 234 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda 1995, Section 3(1) of the Leadership Code Act, 2002 and Section 8(1) (d) of the Inspectorate of Government Act, 2002, to supervise and enforce the Leadership Code of Conduct.

Under Section 4 of the Act, leaders are required to declare their income, assets and liabilities within three months after being appointed or elected into a position of leadership and thereafter every two years during the month of March.

The Leadership Code Act (LCA) which came into force in 2002 was enacted to prohibit behaviour that is likely to compromise honesty, probity, impartiality and integrity of public officers in the management of public affairs, public funds and other public property, likely to among others lead to corruption in public affairs through non-adherence to the rule of law, abuse of office and authority.

Dr. Okiria said that the operationalization of the Leadership Code Tribunal (LCT) has gone a long way in helping to bring to book those that did not comply.

LCT is a government institution, established under Article 235A of the 1995 Constitution of Uganda as amended and Section 19A of the Leadership Code (Amendment) Act 2017.

The tribunal is mandated under Section 19B of the Leadership Code (Amendment) Act to receive, examine and determine any breach of the Code referred to it by the Inspectorate.

Where a person is found guilty of any breach of the Leadership Code of Conduct, punishments are varied according to the nature of the breach and range from warnings, caution, fines, demotion and dismissal from office to confiscation of undeclared or illegally acquired property to mention but a few.

However, members of the public who are dissatisfied with the decision of the IG regarding declaration of assets can petition the Leadership Code Tribunal (LCT) for arbitration.

Dr Okiria revealed to the participants during the training that last year alone the Inspectorate of Government received declarations of a sizeable number of public servants and was able to do verification and bring to book those that did not comply.

She challenged the Focal Persons to exude integrity, professionalism, innovativeness, impartiality and gender equality and equity which are some of the values which the Inspectorate upholds.

Previously, leaders were filling paper declarations of income, assets and liabilities leading to high costs of procuring, distributing, collecting and storing declaration forms for over 25,000 (twenty five thousand) leaders for every declaration period.

But the current Online Declaration System (IG-ODS) has enabled the Inspectorate to receive, process and manage the declarations electronically and it is fast, cheap and efficient.

Under the IG-ODS, leaders can submit their declarations from anywhere in the world, as long as there is internet connectivity and no longer have to physically queue at the IG offices.