Mugisha appearing on NTV Uganda on Tuesday.
KAMPALA — NRM National Youth Forum chairperson Geofrey Mugisha has challenged the government to put citizens at the centre of the fight against corruption, warning that anti-graft operations will achieve little if they end when the cameras are switched off.
Speaking on NTV’s Morning at NTV programme on Tuesday, Mr Mugisha questioned why corruption persists despite the existence of several institutions mandated to fight it, arguing that the focus should shift from creating more agencies to empowering citizens to expose wrongdoing and demand accountability.
“Uganda already has a number of anti-corruption agencies, but why has corruption persisted?” Mr Mugisha asked.
“We have the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, the Inspectorate of Government, the Investors Protection Unit, among others. If you were an investor from Hungary or Britain planning to invest in Uganda and you learned that you need an Investors Protection Unit to protect your investments, would you go ahead and invest?”
His remarks come as the Ministry of Local Government intensifies Maliza Ufisadi operations across the country to tackle corruption at local government level.
Mr Mugisha said the success of the campaign should be judged by what follows the operations rather than the attention they attract while they are underway.
“It is not enough to duplicate bodies and roles; what matters most is what happens after the cameras are turned off,” he said.
He called for stronger protection of whistle-blowers and eyewitnesses, saying citizens will only provide information about wrongdoing if they are assured that doing so will not expose them to reprisals.
“Citizens must be a part of the accountability exercises and know that whistle-blowers and eyewitnesses are protected from persecution when they volunteer incriminating information against public officials,” Mr Mugisha said.
He said Uganda’s youthful population could provide a broad grassroots network for monitoring government programmes if young people were given the knowledge, resources and tools to conduct effective oversight.
Mr Mugisha said seven in every 10 Ugandans are below 30, yet young people have limited involvement in the administration of the country.
He attributed this partly to inadequate capacity for oversight, saying the National Youth Council, which is established by law to organise young people and provide a channel for their participation in national development, is inadequately funded.
At village level, Mr Mugisha said the country has a large network of youth leaders that could be used for grassroots accountability.
“We have nine youth leaders in each of the 72,000 villages across the country, but their leadership is not felt beyond merely appearing on paper,” he said.
Mr Mugisha said the committees could monitor government programmes and question those responsible for their implementation if young leaders were equipped with the necessary knowledge and resources.
“If we do not put systems in place that enable future leaders to understand their roles and effectively monitor government programmes, we are doomed,” he said
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