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Could Corruption Sink Uganda’s Development Plan?
Posted in: Anti-Corruption, Blog, Government, In The News by Marco Puccia on May 5, 2010
An interesting article in The Guardian (UK) recently expressed concern over the threat the corruption in Uganda could play in dismantling its otherwise strong National Development Plan. Development experts have commended the plan, but cautioned that its success is strongly predicated on transparency and accountability.
Corruption and the country’s rapid population growth risk hindering the economic growth forecasted in Uganda‘s recent National Development Plan (NDP), according to a report in the Observer newspaper.
The report warns that without proper monitoring and evaluation, the ambitious plan, unveiled earlier this month, would surely fail to deliver.
[...]
“The NDP’s successful implementation will in many ways hinge on the government’s ability to ensure compliance with internal government reporting requirements,” Theophane Nikyema, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) resident coordinator, told the Observer.
As a Whistleblower Protection Act (protecting whistleblowers from incrimination and offering 5% of money recovered) makes its way through Parliament, the bill is met with skepticism and a national sentiment that corruption is endemic and a “way of life” in Uganda. A recent World Bank report estimates that $250 million is stolen by government officials every year in Uganda. According to a separate report by the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority, $184 million are lost annually in procurement scams — a number that accounts for approximately 70% of the national budget and more than what the country receives in annual foreign aid!
“Corruption is one of the most serious problems hindering development in Uganda,” says Mukotani Rugyendo, senior advocacy and communications officer, at Uganda Debt Network, an advocacy and lobbying coalition against corruption.
While the Whistleblowers Act above would be a great step in the right direction, the government needs to make a public example that it is willing to prosecute corrupt colleagues. Another necessary step is making sure that villagers know how much money in government contracts was given to build a local school, for example, so that they can account for how the funds are spent. Access to information, a cultural shift in understanding the misdeeds of corruption, the tools for M&E as well as reporting, and the political strength and willpower to prosecute corrupt individuals and institutions are all needed to help stymie corruption in Uganda.
While the goal of the National Development Plan to become a middle-income country in 30 years is reasonably feasible, it could just as reasonably be sunk by the selfish graft and corruption that haunts the country and the continent’s development.
[Photo Credit: Flickr User International Rivers]
