President Museveni has named Col Edith Nakalema, one of his closest advisors on anti-corruption, as the leader of the newly formed State House Investors Protectorate Unit. This appointment has been officially confirmed by Mr Faruk Kirunda, the deputy Press Secretary to the president.
This development follows President Museveni’s recent promise to establish an additional anti-corruption unit within State House, dedicated specifically to tackling bribery in public offices. The announcement was made during the president’s address on Labor Day in the rural district of Namutumba, located in eastern Uganda.
In his Labor Day speech, President Museveni emphasized his determination to combat corruption and unveiled plans to create a specialized unit within his office where investors can directly report incidents of bribery or any undue delays in decision-making processes.
This new unit will join the existing array of constitutional bodies, including the Inspectorate of Government, Auditor General, Parliament, Judiciary, and police, in the ongoing fight against corruption.
It is noteworthy that there are already two parallel bodies operating within State House with similar objectives: the State House Anti-Corruption Unit (Shacu), which possesses extensive powers, and the Health Monitoring Unit, responsible for overseeing public health service delivery.
Shacu, functioning with the precision of a military operation, has been actively engaged in investigating rampant corruption within the country’s land offices. Moreover, it conducts special investigations in various government sectors.
According to a study commissioned by the Inspectorate of Government in 2022 and conducted by the Government Transparency Institute, an international think tank specializing in good governance, Uganda experiences an annual loss of over Shs9.1 trillion due to corruption. The study also highlighted that a significant portion of this loss, amounting to 44 percent of government revenue in 2019, can be attributed to bribes paid to tax officials.
During the Labor Day celebrations, President Museveni reiterated his strong stance against corruption, referring to corrupt politicians and civil servants as “parasites” who hinder the country’s progress and impede the activities of investors through the solicitation of bribes and unnecessary delays in decision-making.
He specifically singled out a faction within the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) that engages in extortion and blackmail of traders, offering reduced charges in exchange for bribes. The president assured the public that appropriate actions will be taken against these groups, mentioning the existence of a report detailing their activities. Additionally, he highlighted the accomplishments of the armed forces in stabilizing the country and attracting investment.
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