Uganda has won the Anti-Corruption Collective Award for its outstanding achievement in fighting corruption and raising standards of doing business in the East African region.
CoST Uganda, an infrastructure transparency organisation that promotes transparency by disclosing data from public infrastructure investment, received the award on behalf of Uganda.
CoST senior regional manager Gilbert Sendugwa, according to New Vision, a Ugandan newspaper, said, “This award is not just for CoST Uganda, but for the government, private sector, and civil society partners that have worked together to increase disclosure, undertake assurance processes to give meaning to disclosed data, and more importantly, for the government’s commitment to implement recommended reforms.”
He added that the award, which was given to Uganda on Friday, June 2, 2023, in Johannesburg, South Africa, confirms the value of infrastructure transparency in the delivery of public infrastructure projects in Uganda and beyond.
The award comes against the backdrop of a recent corruption scandal involving over 10 ministers and other high-profile government officials in the misallocation and misuse of items (iron sheets) meant for the Karamoja sub-region.
The scandal saw the arrest of ministers such as Mary Gorreti Kitutu, the senior minister for Karamoja affairs; her junior minister Agnes Nandutu; and state minister for finance Amos Lugoloobi.
All the ministers were released on bail, although their cases are still in court.
Uganda has faced the challenge of corruption for as long as the Museveni-led government has been in power.
Previous corruption scandals have involved the misuse of money meant for people living with HIV (the Global Fund), the misuse of NSSF funds, and the Office of the Prime Minister scandal from 8 years ago, among others.
The scandals have led to losses of millions of dollars.
