Member states of the East African Community have been challenged to adopt a common policy on graft to ensure that the vice is uprooted.

This was said by the EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Political Federation, Julius Rotich while addressing the media at a dialogue on political integration held in Kigali on Tuesday.

"With a common policy and strategy on corruption, it can help the region to move forward because we get a lot of problems with this vice,” he said.

The survey

According to a study carried out by Transparency International in August last year, Uganda has the highest bribery levels in the region, at 40.7 per cent, followed by Tanzania (39.1 per cent). 

Rwanda is the least corrup country in the region at 2.5 per cent.

Connie Bwiza Sekamana, a member of the African Parliamentary Network Against Corruption (APNAC-Rwanda chapter) urged all stakeholders in the fight against graft to adopt zero tolerance to corruption.

She added that Rwanda is on track in addressing all forms of corruption, including the gender based corruption where women are sexually abused to get employment, yet employment has to be based on merit.