DURING their extra-ordinary meeting on Friday, members of the National Anti-corruption Advisory Council urged the media, the private sector, and the civil society to step up efforts in the fight against corruption.

The extra-ordinary meeting focused on strategies of institutions in the prevention and fight against corruption. The war on corruption is far from over. Corruption is still a threat to national development, despite the unwavering efforts to stamp it out, especially in civil service.

 The role of fighting corruption is not for only the mandated agencies, it’s a collective responsibility and will take combined efforts to succeed. The fight against corruption starts with you. If you avoid giving or receiving a bribe, then you are playing a key role in fighting a vice which stifles development. Report any suspected cases of  corruption in your community and by doing that you are saving national resources from being diverted for self aggrandizement .

As responsible citizens, we need to renew  our commitment in the fight against corruption by volunteering as whistle blowers.

Leaders and all stakeholders should keep the momentum through sensitisation of people on the dangers of corruption starting at the grassroots level. People should know that getting a service is their right and should not pay anything to get a service from any government official.

With advancement in technology and development, corruption is getting more sophisticated and we need to devise more efficient ways of fighting it as the culprits have devised sophisticated ways to thrive.

Rwanda is among the least corrupt countries in the world, with Transparency International’s 2014 Corruption Perception Index (CPI), putting the country among Africa’s five least corrupt nations. But this also means that we can’t afford to lose our guard but rather to keep the momentum.