The Attorney General’s office has taken new measures to stem corruption, including dragging those guilty of embezzling public funds to court to force them to return the money. Already the office has identified up to 281 officials who must return the money they stole, failure of which will see them charged in courts of law – an unprecedented action in the government’s fight against corruption. This couldn’t have come at a more opportune time because corruption in all its forms must be made a highly risky business if it is to be stemmed. With the Attorney General cracking the whip, days of impunity and the ceaseless hemorrhage of public funds that has denied citizens much-needed services might soon come to an end. It is a shame that every year the Office of the Auditor General of State Finances reports a continuing trend of billions of taxpayers’ money that goes unaccounted for. Even more disturbing is the fact that many of the culprits are local government officials who are supposed to serve the people at the grassroots. If embezzlement is not made very risky business, the fraudsters will never stop. As the Attorney General and the Auditor General continue to do their job, let everyone play their rightful role in fighting corruption at every level. We have had enough anti-corruption talk and all we need now is decisive action against the corrupt. The Attorney General’s move should also be a wake-up call for the private sector to act and stamp out fraud that is plaguing the business world. Much as Rwanda remains the least corrupt country on the continent, we cannot afford to rest on our laurels lest we be caught off guard by a vice that has condemned millions around the world to misery. Besides denying citizens basic services, fraud and corruption hurt the economy, and that’s the last thing that Rwanda needs.
