New report: Rwanda still least corrupt

The East African Bribery Index 2013, conducted in the five East African Community states, has ranked Rwanda the least corrupt country in the region.However, the country’s corruption index slightly increased from 2.5 per cent in 2012 to 4.4 per cent in 2013.According to the report, by Transparency International, released on Thursday in Bujumbura, police, local leaders, banks, the Judiciary and the Rwanda Revenue Authority were cited as the most corrupt entities in Rwanda.Overall, Uganda was ranked the most corrupt country in the region with a total aggregate of 26.8 per cent, followed by Burundi at 18.6 per cent, Tanzania with 12.9 per cent and then Kenya, with 7.9 per cent.According to the report, local authorities and police in Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and the Judiciary in Burundi take the largest share of bribes. In education institutions, Uganda scored the highest aggregate in bribery at 10.4 followed by Burundi at 12.9, Tanzania at 8.1, Kenya at 4.6 and Rwanda with aggregate 0.6. In medical services, Rwanda scored the least aggregate of 0.5, followed by Burundi at 3.1, Kenya at 7.7, Tanzania at 11.1, with Uganda scoring the highest aggregate of 13.8.Nine out of 10 In police, Kenya had the least aggregate of 10.2 followed by Rwanda at 10.7, Burundi at 24.7, and Tanzania at 26, with Uganda topping the least with aggregate 28.Police spokesperson ACP Damas Gatare, said Police has put in place measures including installing toll free hotlines to report corruption and setting up a command and control unit to monitor graft cases.“We have also put up a disciplinary committee to apprehend those involved in graft…we are also working with Transparency International Rwanda to ensure that the institution is free of corruption,” he told Saturday Times.According Apollinaire Mupiganyi, executive director ,Transparency International Rwanda, the situation in Rwanda was significantly better as nine out of 10 respondents accessed services without encountering any bribery.“The political will is there and the country has made progress to the extent that it’s widely now considered as the least corrupt country in Africa.”According to the national share of bribes, local authorities took the largest share of national bribe at 38.2 per cent, followed by the police at 26.4 per cent.Institutions with the highest level of public interaction recorded the highest level of corruption, Mupiganyi said.He also noted that the only way to deal with corruption is to emphasise zero tolerance and to put in place strong institutions to stem the vice.“Corruption is equivalent to murder, because it kills service delivery to people, results into poverty and hinders economic development, those involved should charged with ‘murder’,” Mupiganyi told Saturday Times. Last July, the global corruption barometer, a research carried out annually by Transparency International ranked Rwanda the least corrupt country on the African continent.

National

New report: Rwanda still least corrupt