Rwanda National Police (RNP) and its partners, mainly from the justice sector, yesterday, launched a week-long campaign to further raise awareness against graft, one of the high impact crimes said to undermine service delivery, good governance and development. The launch, held at the Police General Headquarters in Kacyiru, also attracted other entities charged with fighting corruption including the Office of Ombudsman, prosecution, Rwanda Investigations Bureau (RIB), Rwanda Governance Board (RGB) and Transparency International (TI-Rwanda), among others. The Minister for Justice and Attorney General, Johnston Busingye, while speaking at the meeting, said that there is need for mindset change, professionalism and to respect the law to drive the zero-stance to graft narrative. The campaign against corruption falls in the context of the ongoing Police Week to mark the RNP 18th anniversary. The minister observed that the concept of ensuring a ‘crime-free village’, which is this year’s Police Week theme, is ideal to fight anything that can hinder the country’s progress, ensure human security and lay a firm foundation towards sustainable security and development. “In fighting corruption, we have only one option; to ensure zero to tolerance and to lay ground that gives no room for it to happen. This requires individual and collective responsibility between entities and the people to put ideas into action,” Minister Busingye said, calling for quality service delivery as one of the means to prevent tendencies of bribery. The Chief Ombudsman, Anastase Murekezi, who officiated the meeting, said that a holistic national plan has been drawn, which enlists the role of players such as whistleblowers, civil society groups, media, and law enforcement agencies as key in the anti-graft war. He called for the sustainability of the national strategy against the vice, but added that the revised law against corruption will also enhance current achievements through increased penalties. In his welcome remarks, the Inspector General of Police, Emmanuel K. Gasana, hailed the collaborative framework that exists between state and non-state actors in the fight against corruption. “We need to go a notch higher since the corrupt always have counter-plans to escape justice; without such coherent plans, winning the fight against graft would remain a mirage,” IGP Gasana said. He said the police, as a key player in anti-corruption efforts, has established sufficient internal measures to concretise the strategy for combating corruption, including zero tolerance culture, both within and outside the Force. One the areas that were also tackled that would further contribute in fighting corruption is eliminating contacts between service seekers and providers through enhanced electronic services in various areas such as public procurement, recruitment, driver’s licence tests, motor-vehicle mechanical inspection services, among others. Part of the meeting was a high profile panel moderated by the Prosecutor General, Jean Bosco Mutangana, and had on it representatives from RNP, RIB, RGB and TI-Rwanda. The meeting drew up recommendations that will be implemented by all concerned institutions. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
