A joint response to corruption in Uganda: Donors beginning to bite?

Abstract

Given the stagnating trend on corruption in Uganda and the need to consolidate accountability reforms ahead of the inflow of oil revenues, international development partners developed a Joint Response to Corruption in early 2009. The British Department for International Development (DFID) led an approach that draws on ideas from the OECD DAC Anti-Corruption Task Team, but was tailored to the local context. A year and a half later, the approach was showing promising results in terms of establishing a common platform for dialogue, improving the design of safeguards against corruption in other donor programmes, and encouraging anti-corruption allies in Uganda. The record is more mixed on the impact of sanctions, and sustainability of the donor effort remains a challenge. The Uganda experience suggests that an effective Joint Response to Corruption requires, among other things, investing in leadership for the initiative, building a strong base of evidence and analysis, and maintaining flexibility in order to seize opportunities to advance the anti-anticorruption agenda.