As part of capacity building initiatives for officials steering the Malawi public officers’ declaration regime, a 5-member delegation from Malawi paid a courtesy call on the Inspector General of Government (IGG).

The meeting took place at the Inspectorate of Government’s head office in Kampala.

The Deputy IGG, Ms Mariam Wangadya, welcomed the team and thanked them for choosing to benchmark with the Inspectorate of Government.

Relatedly, the Deputy IGG, Mr George Bamugemereire, said anti-corruption agencies on the continent should hold more interactions and agree on tools that are cross-cutting in the fight against corruption.

The Head of the Malawian delegation, Hon. Ralph Pachalo Jooma, thanked the Inspectorate for hosting them, saying the benchmarking would go a long way in helping them to close all the gaps in ensuring that all eligible public officers declare their wealth to the Office of the Director of Public Officers’ Declarations (ODPOD).

The delegation also comprised Hon. Lucius Banda, Hon. Patricia Mkanda and committee clerk, Mr Longani Kabitchi from the Malawian Parliamentary Monitoring Committee, and the Deputy Director of ODPOD, Mr Michael Chiusiwa.

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The team also paid a courtesy call on the Minister of State for Ethics and Integrity, Rev. Fr. Simon Lokodo and visited Parliament of Uganda and the IG’s Kampala Regional Office.

The Inspectorate of Government (IG) has arrested the Ag. Secretary Lyantonde District Land Board, Sekamatte John Mary, for soliciting a 250,000/= bribe to process a land title.

According to the complainant, who was processing a title for his land, Sekamatte asked for the money claiming it was an allowance for members of the district land board. When the complainant requested for a receipt, Sekamatte allegedly told him it was not necessary since it was normal procedure at Lyantonde District Land Board.

The complainant then sought help from the IG's Masaka Regional Office. A trap was laid and Sekamatte was arrested after receiving the bribe. He is currently in IG custody pending trial.

The Deputy IGG, Mr. George Bamugemereire and the Director of Ombudsman Affairs, Mr David Makumbi represented the Inspectorate of Government at the African Regional Ombudsman Training which was conducted at the Binguwa Mutharika International Conference Centre in Lilongwe, Malawi from 5th – 9th February 2018.

The Training attracted African Ombudsmen from over 19 countries. This attendance enriched the training experience for all participants as they were able to share both their experiences and challenges.

The participants were reminded about the basic role of the Ombudsman which were outlined as:

1. Ombudsmen offer their services free of charge, and are thus accessible to individuals who could not afford to pursue their complaints through the courts.

2. They are committed to achieving redress for the individual, but also, where they identify systemic failings, to seek changes in the work of the bodies in their jurisdiction, both individually and collectively.

3. They can generally undertake a single investigation into multiple complaints about the same topic, thus avoiding duplication and excessive cost.

4. They are neutral arbiters and not advocates nor “consumer champions”.

5. They normally ask the body concerned and the complainant to try to resolve complaints before commencing an investigation.

6. They usually seek to resolve disputes without resorting to formal investigations where this is possible and desirable.

7. Where they identify injustice, they seek to put this right.

The workshop was facilitated by renown Ombudsman Expert Professor Victor Ayeni from the United Kingdom.

The Star Initiative team which is currently on a mission in Uganda visited Jinja Regional Office for a demonstration of the Public Interface system. The interface will ensure that leaders can access the system to send their details for Inspectorate of Government Online Declaration System (IG-ODS) registration. This will help address the challenge that the IG experienced of lack of information on leaders, which delayed the process of sending invitations to leaders to declare their income, assets and liabilities in time.

Through the public interface, the leaders will be able to input personal data, including the National ID number, which will enable them to receive an invitation to declare link. This is part of phase 2 of the IG-ODS, whose objectives are:

I. To improve the filing system

II. To improve the data management system

III. Maintenance and security of the system

IV. E-verification too

V. Prepare for integration with other government databases

The public interface will also be used by leaders to make requests related to the declaration or lodge a complaint. This will mark a key success of the IG-ODS system.

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The Inspector General of Government (IGG) presented the Budget Framework Paper for Financial Year 2018/19 to the Chairperson of the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee.

The Chairperson, Hon Jacob Oboth Oboth applauded the IGG for the effort in the fight against corruption. He pledged to fend for the institution to have the priorities funded. He noted that if the IG was to fight corruption they needed the support. He also pledged to review the amendments of the Leadership Code Act which had recently been passed.

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The Court of Appeal has upheld former NSSF boss, David Chandi Jamwa's 12-year jail term handed to him by the Anti-Corruption Court in 2011 for causing the Fund a financial loss of over sh2.7b after selling bonds before their maturity dates to the defunct Crane Bank.

The verdict means Jamwa will have to remain behind bars until 2023. He has also been barred from holding a public office for 10 years.

In 2011, Jamwa was sentenced to a dozen years behind bars by then Anti-Corruption Court judge John Bosco Katutsi after he found him guilty of the charge.

However, Jamwa appealed his conviction and sentence at the Court of Appeal, which also granted him bail, pending determination of his sentence.

Copy of Judgment

The Inspectorate of Government signed a Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding with the Danish Parliamentary Ombudsman to enhance exchange of knowledge and experiences with regard to their respective mandates as ombudsman offices.

The purpose of the Memorandum is to set up a framework for cooperation and exchange of experience as well as to agree on means of how to achieve more effective discharge of their respective mandates. The institutions will remain at all times mindful of the differences in terms of their respective social, economic and legal environments. The institutions will also take into account and share the relevant legal developments concerning the discharge of their respective mandates.

The other areas of cooperation that the institutions may upon mutual agreement and consultation perform include: Meetings based upon prevailing need(s), Joint Conferences, Seminars, Workshops, Study Tours/Visits.

The activities above and any others incidental to the same shall be done with the express purpose of exchange of expert knowledge, information and best practices related to the structural and organizational requirements and issues relevant to building the capacity of staff of the respective institutions.

The institutions will appoint their respective Follow-up and Evaluation coordinators. The Ugandan focal point in respect of this document is the Director of Ombudsman Affairs at the Inspectorate of Government and the Danish focal point is the Director of International Relations of the Danish Parliamentary Ombudsman.

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In a collaborative approach and effort, the Anti-Corruption Agencies namely: the Inspectorate of Government (IG), Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA), Office of the Auditor General (OAG) , Justice Law and Order Sector (JLOS) and Directorate for Ethics and Integrity (DEI) have come together to form a syndicate to counter all forms of corruption.

This collaboration is supported by the German Government through Deutsche GesellschaftfürInternationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), under the Governance and Civil Society Programme.

Every year, a special week is set aside in Uganda in respect of the fight against corruption that climaxes with the International Anti-Corruption Day. The United Nations (UN) General Assembly by resolution 58/4 of 31st October 2003, designated 9th December as the International Anti-Corruption Day. In Uganda, the focus this year is on engaging the public under the theme: Restoring Integrity in Public Service; Regaining Citizens’ Trust in the Anti-Corruption Fight.”

The campaign was officially launched by the 2nd Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for East African Affairs, Al-Haji Ali Kirunda Kivejinja at CHOGM Grounds in Kampala. He also flagged off the Upcountry Anti-Corruption Drive that traversed areas of Masaka, Lyantonde, Mbarara, Ibanda, Kabarole and Mubende.

In her remarks, the Inspector General of Government (IGG) Ms Irene Mulyagonja this year’s campaign targeted the institutions of government that are meant to serve citizens by providing basic services which are affected by corruption when it continues to show up in processes of delivery of these crucial services.

IGG's Remarks

The IG does a series of activities in fulfillment of its mandate of 'Promoting just utilization of public resources'. This is a newsletter about some of the IG's activities in the 1st Quarter (July - September) 2017. Read newsletter

The Deputy IGG, Ms Mariam Wangadya released a report on the alleged mismanagement of emergency construction program for schools in Kamuli District.

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