MPs decry ‘growing’ gender-based corruption

Lawmakers on Tuesday decried gender-based corruption which they said is on the rise in the country, noting that it remains a largely ignored phenomenon despite the country’s significant strides in fighting other forms of graft. The issue was raised yesterday during a meeting between members of the Standing Committee on National Budget and Patrimony and officials from the Public Service Commission (PSC). The meeting aimed at discussing the parliamentary budget framework for the coming fiscal year. Adolphe Shyaka Bazatoha, the deputy chairperson of the Committee, said: “Transparency International has raised the issue of sexual corruption across all sectors, especially during recruitment. But despite the warnings, little is being done to address the problem.” A study conducted three years ago by Transparency International Rwanda, revealed that gender-based corruption exists in the workplace and particularly affects women in search for jobs in both public and private sector. The study also stated that about 85 per cent of victims of sexual corruption are female. “Only about 5.6 per cent of gender-based corruption victims have reported to police or Ombudsman’s Office, while the majority prefer to keep quiet for fear of hindering their employment prospects,” the report read in part. Executive Secretary PSC Angelina Muganza, told the lawmakers that it is hard to fight the vice since both actors make extra effort to conceal the act. In an interview with The New Times, Muganza said the Commission will soon set up a structure that will help fight the vice. ‘The Commission is aware of the magnitude of the vice,” she said, adding that it is against the country’s cultural values. In the PSC budget framework for 2014/2015, we have set aside about Rwf30 million to hire a professional independent organisation to conduct a nationwide research on gender-based sexual corruption,” Muganza said. The African Parliamentarian Network against Corruption (APNAC) Rwanda Chapter, Transparency International Rwanda, the National Women Council, Women for Women International, Profemmes-Twese Hamwe, among others, agree there has been reluctance on the part of the victims to report cases of sexual-based corruption.