When Monica Kirabo, Angela Izi Nkusi, and Odile Abimana heard about a story of bribery that involved an innocent victim and a policeman, they knew it was something that needed to be addressed. The three young ladies are students of Gashora Girls Academy of Science and Technology. Two years ago, a friend told them the story of his father and how a policeman asked a bribe from him. The father was driving before the policeman stopped him that he had violated traffic rules. He was asked to pay a bribe to be let go, Odile Abimana narrates. In the real sense, she adds, the father had not committed any offense nor had he violated any rules. When we heard about that kind of injustice, there was a need to have a system that holds such people accountable, Kirabo says. To put it in context, nearly 75 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa are estimated to have paid a bribe in the past year – some to escape punishment by the police or courts, but many forced to pay to get access to the basic services that they desperately need, according to Transparency International. The three sciences and technology students came together and decided to design an application which they called ACAP - Anti Corruption App. The system enables people to lodge claims and bribery cases through a mobile application, which then can be reviewed by concerned officials. According to Izi Nkusi, one of the young developers, their idea is to save the nation by enabling citizens to access justice. They plan to partner with relevant authorities to make the platform work for people. At this weeks Social Accountability Symposium which took place in Kigali and organised by Transparency International Rwanda with the support of the Germany Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), experts indicated that it is such platforms that will accelerate the level at which citizens can hold their leaders, politicians and service providers accountable. Thelma Quaye, a technology engineer, believes that technology brings about speed, which is essential in achieving accountability. Technology allows for scaling, reduced turnaround time and transparency for social accountability, she says. In Kenya, mobile applications are already facilitating citizens to report cases. For instance, Transparency International Kenya developed the Action for Transparency App (A4T App), an application that empowers citizens to report corruption cases through their mobile phones. Basically, by using a mobile phone with Internet access, anyone is able to check the amount of government money pledged to each school and health clinic – and the amount actually spent. According to Titus Odiwuor Ogalo, the Project Coordinator at TI Kenya, by exposing which institutions and individuals are involved in corruption and providing the data to journalists and activist groups they hope they can make corruption less attractive. He indicated that information presently moves faster as there is more room for feedback and tracking of the progress of each report lodged. Anastase Shyaka, the Minister of Local Government, thinks technology is important in service delivery. Governments should invest in pro-people technology. In Rwandas case, technology has been important not just in services delivery but to hold leaders accountable for their actions, he said at the conference. He particularly mentioned the example of Irembo, which the government instituted to ease service delivery. Irembo, a one-stop centre for public services, is now accessible by thousands of citizens. More than 100 services are obtained through this online platform. editor@newtimesrwanda.com
