Prime
Museveni tasks new Auditor General to ‘smell’ corruption
President Museveni (right) with the new Auditor General, Mr Edward Akol, at the swearing-in ceremony at State House Entebbe on July 22, 2024. PHOTO | PPU
What you need to know:
- Mr Museveni recently appointed Mr Akol as Auditor General, and he was subsequently approved by Parliament on July 4.
President Museveni has urged the new Auditor General, Mr Edward Akol, to “smell” any corrupt tendencies in government.
Speaking at Mr Akol’s swearing-in ceremony at State House Entebbe on Monday, the President congratulated Mr Akol, before urging him to do things differently if he is to effectively deal with corruption in the country.
“I congratulate you and your family for being appointed the Auditor General of the country. The Banyankole say; ‘Orurikwenda kwita embwa rugigara enyindo,’ loosely translated as ‘whatever wants to kills a dog blocks its nose,’ so it can no longer smell, then it will die, so Akol’s job is to smell for Uganda,” he is quoted as saying in a statement issued by State House.
About corrupt auditors
The President cautioned the new Auditor General about corrupt auditors, saying that he should not depend solely on written evidence but rather use the public to gather information about corruption.
“About auditors who are given money and write false reports, this is easy to detect. Don’t just depend on the written reports, send people to the field to find out, how are my people doing because the public knows, rely on the written records but also the field checks,” he added.
The oath was administered by the Head of Public Service and Secretary to Cabinet, Ms Lucy Nakyobe.
Mr Museveni recently appointed Mr Akol as Auditor General, and he was subsequently approved by Parliament on July 4.
He replaced Mr John Muwanga who has retired after serving for more than 20 years. Mr Akol joined the Office of the Auditor General as an auditor in August 1994. He was later promoted to senior auditor in July 1999 and later became a senior principal auditor in 2004 before being appointed as deputy Auditor General.
Present at the function were the Finance Minister Matia Kasaija, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Mr. Ramathan Ggoobi, the Clerk to Parliament, Mr Adolf Mwesige; and Mr. Akol’s family members.
President Museveni and his technocrats have committed to tame graft, which according to a 2015 report by the Parliament, cost the country more than Shs24 trillion over the last 10 years.
In this year’s State-of-the-Nation address, the President announced that his government is determined to stamp out graft like never before.
“Task five, eliminate corruption in the public service and from among the political leaders. I have been getting good information about corrupt actors among the public servants but also among the political actors. With firm evidence, I will crush these traitors,” Mr Museveni.
Several Members of Parliament, government officials and now Trade Ministry Permanent Secretary Geraldine Ssali have since been arrested on corruption allegations.
