Speaker of Parliament Anita Among has expressed concern over the growing deficit of public trust in African governments, attributing it to corruption and poor service delivery.
She made these remarks during the official opening of the 5th African Organisation of Public Accounts Committees (AFROPAC) Assembly, held at Golden Tulip Hotel in Kampala under the theme: “Illicit Financial Flows and Fostering Public Financial Resilience.”
Among noted that public trust in governments across the continent continues to decline due to the mismanagement of public funds.
“In almost every country on this continent, there is a growing deficit of public trust in the governments because they do not get what is expected of government, because these monies have not been used in a proper way,” she said.
She also highlighted concerns over poor service delivery, widening inequality, and unsustainable public debt, which she said have worsened the situation.
“There is discontent within the quality of service delivery. There is widening inequality among the populace and escalating unsustainable public debt. This is where you get the rich are really rich and where you get the poor are really poor because of this kind of thing,” Among stated.
The Speaker further criticized the failure of governments to meet citizens’ expectations despite collecting taxes meant to finance public services.
“Citizens may pay taxes to finance government operations. In return, they expect satisfactory service delivery and accountability. In most countries, that is the opposite, and that is unfortunate. The service delivery is not achieved, though it is the expectation of the citizens,” she remarked.
The AFROPAC Assembly brings together public accounts committees from across Africa to discuss financial accountability, transparency, and measures to curb illicit financial flows on the continent.
Get keywords and meta description
