PPDA Hosts 3rd Virtual National Students Anti-Corruption Challenge Awards Ceremony

By David Matovu

The Executive Director of the PPDA, Canon Benson Turamye, joined other heads of anti-corruption agencies today (11/06/2024) for the 3rd Virtual National Students Anti-Corruption Challenge awards ceremony, which he hosted at the PPDA Head Office in Nakasero, Kampala.

The event, to confer awards to students from 53 education institutions  across the country, including tertiary, secondary, and primary levels, who emerged as winners of the nationwide challenge is spearheaded by the National Debate Council. The students competed in producing anti-corruption speeches, essays, poems, videos, works of art and songs.

While speaking at the awards ceremony, Canon Turamye expressed appreciation to the students for their creativity and willingness to add their voices to the anti-corruption movement in Uganda. He urged the students to carry the message to their schools and homes, emphasizing that a corruption-free Uganda starts with them.

Turamye also hailed the concerted efforts of the various anti-corruption agencies in the fight against corruption in public procurement. He revealed that the PPDA collaborates with the State House Anti-Corruption Unit (SHACU), the Inspector General of Government (IGG), the Auditor General’s Office, and the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to investigate corruption in public procurement..

He announced that in collaboration with the DPP’s Office, the PPDA will strengthen the fight against corruption even further, having been given prosecutorial powers to expedite action against the corrupt in public procurement. “We are now training our legal chamber of eleven (11) lawyers. Very soon, they will be able to prosecute corrupt players in the procurement value chain. In this way, cases concerning public procurement will be handled more quickly,” he added.

Brig Gen Henry Isoke, the head of the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, who presided over the award ceremony as Chief Guest, likened the fight against corruption to the National Resistance Movement (NRM’s) historic battles, emphasizing that victory is possible as the corrupt are few.

Working with the National Debate Council (NDC), the anti-corruption coalition of government agencies seeks to strategically instill the virtues of transparency and integrity among the upcoming generation of Ugandans while they are still young. This initiative is another measure to combat the vice that has persisted in Uganda. Uganda ranks 141st among 180 countries in Transparency International’s Corruption Index of 2023, where the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector.

-END-