Chris Baryomunsi has commended the suggestion by the office of Inspector General of Government (IGG) to adopt lifestyle audits to help the public to catch corrupt public officials by questioning the source of their wealth.
Baryomunsi who is the Minister of ICT and National Guidance made the remarks while appearing on NBS Spotlight UG Show on Monday night.
The discussion was under the topic: Assessing the NRM’s progress in implementing its 2022-2026 manifesto.
Baryomunsi said members of the society should actively participate in the fight against corruption by questioning the source of wealth of some of the civil servants who put up huge investments and building in their communities.
“Like this issue of the lifestyle audit , the IGG was talking about. If somebody is a civil servant, probably you know how much he earns and he has put up a mansion which is worth billions. Why can’t you as members of the society raise this issue? Can he tell us where he has got the money? Instead you praise him and you call him for fundraising,” he said.
Baryomunsi said the government has demonstrated its commitment towards the fight against corruption in Uganda, asking Ugandans to stop blaming president Museveni and the National Resistance Movement (NRM) leaders for failure to fight the vice.
“I think all of us irrespective of the position you occupy, we have a cardinal responsibility to fight corruption. We would want the victims of corrupt tendencies to speak. If they are constructing a school in your community, there are visible signs to show the work being done. Why do you keep quiet as a citizen?” he queried.
He explained that president Museveni cannot be everywhere in the country to fight corruption, calling upon the citizen’s to actively join the effort towards fighting against vice which is eating up the country.
“That is why the president has put in place a special unit now to handle investors. If there are people who are asking for bribes, if there are people who are failing to make decisions and are delaying these investments, then there should be functioning processes,” he said.
Baryomunsi explained that corruption is not only an issue for those who are in government but it is a matter that has entrenched itself across society that needs a concerted effort to end in Uganda other than blame games.
“I have seen fights in particular churches where church leaders have built mansions and Christians are wondering where they (leaders) are getting the money from. So, corruption cuts across the society and all us must demonstrate the commitment, the zeal to fight this corruption,”
In 2021, IGG Beti Kamya while meeting the European Union (EU) in Kampala said her office had plans to adopt lifestyle audits to catch corrupt public officials.
She said her vision was to quickly reverse the massive theft in public offices by educating citizens how corruption is why they cannot have the services they pay for.
But President Museveni later cautioned her to go slow on the planned lifestyle audit, adding that that would force the corrupt people to hide stolen funds abroad. This, he said, would complicate the war against corruption.
“The lifestyle audit is good but be careful because we are still lucky that our corrupt people are corrupt here. But if they realise that their lifestyle is being audited, they will instead take what they stole abroad and it will be hard to track them,” Museveni said.
Lifestyle audits, also known as lifestyle checks or lifestyle monitoring, are an accountability tool that can be used to detect and prevent corruption.
Such audits are conducted when the visible lifestyle or standard of living of an individual appears to exceed their known income level. The detection of such discrepancies can raise the red flag, warranting closer inspection.
In such instances, an assessment of the individual’s income, assets and investments can be undertaken to determine if such seemingly extravagant expenditures could have come from illicit gains.
According to Transparency International, if the audit shows a mismatch between a person’s known income and assets compared to their lifestyle and spending patterns, then there is an increased risk that the person is deriving alternative income from sources that constitute a conflict of interest or illegal activity, including embezzlement and bribery.
As verification often includes assessments of an official’s household, the approach is particularly helpful in detecting whether corrupt proceeds could have been under the names of family members or associates.