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Political will key to corruption fight-Hoseah
2007-09-12 09:14:47
By Judica Tarimo
The director general of the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau, Edward Hoseah, has said that the corruption battle is about political will.
He was speaking in Dar es Salaam yesterday during a special educative forum for editors on the newly introduced Prevention and Combating of Corruption Act of 2007.
Hoseah said: `Corruption is about politics, influence, money` He added that the political will was crucial in the fight against corruption.
`It is the political master who determines the corruption fight,` he said.
The PCCB head was responding to a question as to whether the Bureau had enough muscle to seize the proceeds of corruption as the Act stipulated, given the fact that it had meager resources and those involved were individuals who were politically and financially powerful.
However, Hoseah said that the fourth phase government had manifested a commitment to fight corruption, singling out the on-going PCCB campaign to nab candidates who were buying votes in CCM elections.
`The idea of arresting CCM leaders for election fraud was inconceivable only a few years ago,` he said.
He added: `I believe that my President (Jakaya Kikwete) is committed to the war against corruption.`
Hoseah said that PCCB would closely monitor in future, the election conduct of other political parties as a way of curbing electoral corruption. He added that the fight would also be extended to the sports arena as well.
Asked about PCCB’s independence, he said that the independence of any security or anti-corruption watchdog anywhere in the world was not absolute.
`In the modern world, total independence of anti-corruption bodies is impossible. There must always be some checks and balances.`
The upbeat PCCB chief said the watchdog agency had moved from enjoying a low level of independence to a much higher one, as the old law clearly stipulated that the agency would directly operate under the President.
`We have now moved further, the new Act states that the Bureau will operate “independently,` and the words `directly operate under the President` have been deleted. The Chairman of the Association of Media Owners, Reginald Mengi, suggested that the people should be enlightened about the adverse impact of corruption, and the fact that they are the ones who would eventually foot the bill of corruption-triggered costs of social and public services, like electricity supply.
He also said that people who were selling their voting rights for a small amount of money should be educated, for they did not really know the cost that they would eventually pay for such action.
Sakina Datoo, chairperson of the Editors Forum, praised PCCB for hosting the meeting and manifesting its intention to cooperate with the media.
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