As a Citizen of Uganda it is your responsibility to combat corruption in your community.

Many Ugandans irrespective of level of education and age have this mistaken mentality that the government has the primary responsibility to fight corruption in Uganda. They forget that the government is just a collection of individuals, mostly corrupt ones who act on behalf of the people.

The state is an abstract entity and its organs are artificial entities. What is real is people who run these organs and more often than not, these very people who are entrusted with Public offices are the ones who plunder public resources. If you are waiting for the state to combat corruption on its own, you will wait for enternity.

These people entrusted with Public office are the biggest perpetrators and thus the beneficiaries of corruption. They will not voluntarily destroy or change the very system that benefits them. They have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo since it means that they can continue plundering public resources and maintain their extravagant life styles and previledges.

Since the Public resources are accumulated and contributed by you and me, when they are plundered it’s not the Public servants who lose, it is the people that lose because the public resources are meant for Public service delivery. These are the resources supposed to pay for your health care, build health facilities, buy drugs, build schools, pay teachers and support other public priorities such as job Creation and public health.

In the circumstances, only you and I have the duty to combat corruption in Uganda. Public servants are merely our agents but the overall duty to combat corruption lies on you and me. You and I can combat corruption by doing the following:

• Vote leaders that care about the country and are willing to combat corruption rather those seeking to join in the plunder of public resources to enrich themselves and their families.
• Refuse to engage in corruption whether as a public servant or as a private citizen. Bribes are paid by you and me. Report any one who seeks a bribe to provide a service to you.
• Stop glorifying and praising corruption. Those that illicitly enrich themselves and their families are not hardworking or blessed or lucky. They are crooks and thieves. They steal from the weak and vulnerable. They are the reason why your children study under the trees. They are the reason why there are no drugs or medical personnel in the medical facilities. They are the reason why you have to pay bribes to receive government services. They are the reason why you can not access justice in the courts. They are the reason why you have no market for your agricultural produce and the reason why your roads are impassable. You should not admire these people. You should condemn these people. You should report them and the property they own to the Inspectorate of Government.
• Report those that you suspect of being corrupt and their property to the Inspectorate of Government. These will allow the Inspectorate of Government to investigate, arrest and prosecute these corrupt individuals and confiscate their illicitly acquired wealth.
• Reject leaders who refuse to combat corruption and always inform your leaders that they must at all times reject and take measures to combat Corruption.
• Do not sell your vote to corrupt leaders. Let the cost of your vote be good service delivery and zero tolerance for corruption. When corruption is eliminated service delivery will improve and everything that the corrupt politician could have given you and, you will get from the improved service delivery. Instead of soap and sugar and alcohol, you will get schools, health facilities, roads, bridges, railways, doctors, market for your goods and many others.