Gisagara anti-corruption technology wins award

Gisagara District has won an award for coming up with innovative solutions to eliminate corruption in the local government. The plaque and certificate were presented to the district at the closure of the Anti-Corruption Week in Kigali, yesterday. The award, by the Office of the Ombudsman, seeks to promote anti-corruption efforts at the local government level. The closing ceremony of the Anti-Corruption Week coincided with the celebration of the International Anti-Corruption Day marked under the theme, “Give your contribution, report corruption.” Gisagara District scored 70 per cent to beat the other 29 districts. Gasabo District, with 69.5 per cent, and Huye District, with 69 per cent, were awarded for coming in second and third positions, respectively. Gisagara mayor Jerome Rutaburingoga described the recognition as motivation to come up with more practical actions to uproot corruption in local government. “The award is a result of our innovative solutions we came up with this year. First, we introduced e- kaye technology that helps us to track and monitor service delivery from village- cell- sector up to district level . When a person comes seeking for a service, we get immediate report on how the service was delivered through that technology,” he said. “Each officer who know they are being monitored avoids asking for bribe and that is how we reduce cases of corruption.” Rutaburingoga said, among the other interventions, the district has sustained collaboration with other institutions like Police and the justice sector to make sure all suspects are reported, investigated and prosecuted. Recently, 10 officials of the district, including executive secretaries (at the sector and cell levels) who were implicated in bribery were brought to book, according to the mayor. Aloysie Cyanzayire, the chief ombudsman, commended the districts that have demonstrated willingness to fight corruption and urged them to stay the course with more innovations . “Cases of bribery are still relatively high at the local government level as indicated by the 2016 bribery index but we appreciate the fact that there is a political will to fight it,” Cyanzayire said. “We call for more commitment from other districts that are lagging behind. But also ask the whole community to be part of this battle by reporting suspicious cases and those they encounter so that offenders can be brought to book to discourage the vice.” Transparency International Rwanda Bribery index 2016, launched yesterday in Kigali, indicates that bribery cases increased this year, to 24.4 per cent, compared to 17.5 per cent in year 2015. Local governments recorded more cases of people giving out bribes to get different services mainly jobs, Girinka cows, VUP services, among others, at 39 per cent, according to the report. During the 2016 Anti-Corruption Week, the Office of the Ombudsman conducted radio and TV talk shows on the effects of corruption on development. They also held a dialogue with youth leaders, media practitioners, and religious institutions to bring them on board in the fight against corruption. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Gisagara anti-corruption technology wins award