Italy invites Uganda for lessons to fight corruption

The Italian Ambassador to Uganda Mr Mauro Massoni has urged the Ugandan government to seek assistance from the Italian government on ways of fighting corruption.
Speaking during the celebrations of Italy's 78th National Day on Wednesday, Mr Massoni said Italy has a great experience in the fight against corruption, crime as well as environmental protection.

“Today in Italy is quite an important day because we celebrate 210 years of the creation of the arms of Carabinieri. You know, Carabinieri are our security forces. They are very active in the repression of crime, in the repression of corruption,” Mr Massoni said.
He added; “If you need any support on this issue we have a great experience on that.”

The Italian National Day and Republic Day are celebrated on June 2 each year, with the main celebration taking place in Rome. On this day Italians commemorate the day when they voted to abolish the monarchy and formed a republic.
However, the Italians in Uganda commemorated the day on Wednesday, June 5 at the residence of the Italian ambassador to Uganda in Kampala.

For many years, Uganda has registered poor performance in the fight against corruption to the extent that the United Kingdom and the United States government have come out to sanction Speaker of Uganda’s Parliament Anita Among, and several other former and serving government officials on allegations of corruption and human rights abuse.
First, the UK government slapped sanctions on Ms Among and two former Ministers of Karamoja; Dr Goretti Kitutu and Agnes Nandutu for their involvement in the iron sheet scandal.

Later, the US government also sanctioned the same people and their spouses, including Mr Moses Magogo, the speaker’s spouse who is the president of the Federation of Uganda Football Association (FUFA), Mr Michael Kitutu the husband of Dr Kitutu, and Amos Lugoloobi the state Minister for Planning and his wife Evelyne Nakimera and former deputy Chief of Defence Forces Peter Elwelu.

 The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Mr Thomas Tayebwa who presided over the event lauded the Italian government for fostering economic growth and promoting social welfare for Ugandans.

“We are committed to learning from these experiences and further enhancing our cooperation for the benefit of our people. Uganda and Italy share a long-standing relationship built on mutual respect, cooperation, and shared aspirations. Our bilateral ties have been reinforced through collaboration in key sectors, including health, education, and support for refugees,” Mr Tayebwa said.

Mr Tayebwa noted that Italy continues to make significant contributions towards Uganda’s social-economic transformation in line with the National Development Plan (NDPIII).
He said through Italian development cooperation, the Italian government has focused on the health sector where 60 percent of the budget is directed toward health interventions through bilateral programmes and Non-governmental organisation-promoted projects.

“The target areas of Northern Uganda and Karamoja where medical staff houses have been constructed and maternal and child health supported have greatly saved many lives,” Mr Tayebwa said.