The ministry of Local Government has set up a hotline in all the 30 districts following constant complaints from the public about graft and poor service delivery at the grassroots levels.The hotline will bolster the fight against graft at the grassroots level as most officials may, in the past, have hesitated or felt uncomfortable to report their colleagues either because they have committed such wrongs or did not believe their seniors would act to follow up on their reports.It is, however, important that the hotline remains anonymous and confidential as credibility and independence are crucial to the effectiveness of such a system. The identity of the tipsters should be protected and the government agencies concerned should act quickly and firmly to follow up or check out reports of wrongdoing, unethical behaviour or excessively luxurious lifestyles of public officials.Tipsters should also be protected from retaliation and any legal consequences even if their information is inaccurate or phony as long as they file their reports in good faith without malicious intent. In so doing, tipsters may yet find it expressively easier and more comfortable to file anonymous reports on suspected acts of graft or suspicious behavior of their colleagues.On the other hand, there is certainly a risk that the hotline would initially be flooded with false reports or information provided with malicious intent against particular officials, but such a risk is still worth taking to ensure better service delivery and fully eradicate graft. In any case, there is no need to follow up every scrap of information but reports of suspicious behavior of public officials must surely serve some useful purpose. Moreover, we do not think officials in charge of managing the hotline could so easily be fooled by such false reports.In the main, there is no doubt that the hotline is a small investment that will more than pay for itself once there are valid complaints or if it prevents public officials from doing something they ought not to while improving on service delivery.
