Members of Parliament led by Deputy Speaker, Jacob Oulanyah and Leader of Opposition Betty Aol have pledged to fight corruption.
This followed the decision by MPs to adopt a resolution committing to fight corruption and perform their work in an honest and ethical manner.
In his communication during today’s plenary, Oulanyah (pictured) informed Parliament that he had addressed the nation at Kololo Independence Grounds after the anti-corruption walk where he raised awareness against the vice of corruption and called on fellow MPs to fight the vice out of Uganda.
“I am saying this because I made re-commitment on your behalf to fight against corruption. The Chief Justice and President Yoweri Museveni made the same commitment,” Oulanyah said.
He added: “You all know what corruption has done how much damage and suffering ordinary people have gone through. But we also know that our people who are corrupt aren’t aliens but it is our parents, relatives, spouses, children and grandchildren. The fight starts with all of us in our own backyard.”
In the pledge, Parliament vowed to serve Ugandans with honesty and be ethical in all their dealings, provide timely service to all Ugandans, refuse to illicit or accept any bribe, negotiate government contracts with integrity and ensure zero tolerance towards corruption.
“If we used the money we appropriate to this country properly, it would be enough to run the country without any support from anybody. We are getting tied to loans and to all kind of borrowing because all of what we pass gets wasted,” Oulanyah said.
Leader of Opposition, Aol welcomed the commitment and reminded fellow MPs of their role to serve the vulnerable, saying at times, politicians forget them (the vulnerable).
She also alleged that the corruption started in giving shirts in the ministries that public servants put on the anti-corruption walk.
However, Kampala Central MP, Muhammad Nsereko wondered how Government would call the walk against corruption as a bipartisan issue, yet they blocked former Presidential Candidate, Kiiza Besigye from joining Museveni in the anti-corruption talk.
“I want to know who was corrupt enough to stop Besigye from walking? Instead of police taking for him a t-shirt and a cap they only served him with brutality and his car was towed, is this the corruption we are fighting in bi-partisan manner?” he said.
Government Chief Whip, Ruth Nankabirwa called on MPs to change their ways, saying she has received complaints from some of the witnesses that appear in committees and speak of how MPs treat them and how MPs handle reports, saying it smells of corruption.
“It is all of us. I haven’t been corrupt and will not be corrupt,” she said.
