21 October 2009
The youth are a powerful force that should be actively involved in the national campaign to promote zero tolerance to corruption and build ethics and integrity, a scholar has advised.
Prof. Edward Kakonge, the chairperson of the Uganda Debt Network (UDN), made the call during a regional workshop to launch Integrity Club activities in Eastern Uganda universities in Mbale District last Friday.
The workshop attracted 170 participants, mainly members of the integrity clubs from; Islamic University in Uganda, Busoga University, Kumi University and Busitema University.
Prof. Kakonge said through the UDN anti-corruption forums, the youth will gain deeper insight, knowledge and understanding on issues of corruption and good governance, and how they can effectively fight corruption.
"The World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report for 2008-09 identifies corruption as one of the major constraints for doing business in Uganda. More than half the government's annual budget is lost to corruption each year, amounting to $950 million," he said.
"Though the government has put in place legal reforms to combat the vice, corruption remains widespread. The youth should therefore be part of this campaign to wipe out the vice," he said.
He asked the government to inculcate integral values into the youth to groom them into inherently principled, morally upright and ethical citizens.
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