The law requires that whistleblowers who provide information leading to the recovery of funds are entitled to a reward equivalent to five per cent of the amount recovered.
The Inspectorate of Government is facing questions over delayed payments to whistleblowers after five petitioners accused the anti-corruption agency of withholding their legally stipulated rewards for information that led to the recovery of public funds.
Muwadda Nkunyingi, the chairperson of Parliament’s Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE), said he had received five petitions from whistleblowers accusing the Inspectorate of Government of failing to pay them their share of recovered funds as provided for under the Whistleblowers Act.
Under the law, whistleblowers who provide information leading to the recovery of funds are entitled to a reward equivalent to five per cent of the amount recovered.
Nkunyingi said the petitioners had not received their rewards despite their information reportedly contributing to successful recoveries.
“I have received five petitions from different whistleblowers pinning the office of the IGG for failing to pay them as stipulated in the Whistleblowers Act. These people risked their lives to provide information,” Nkunyingi said.
Deputy Inspector General of Government Anny Muhairwe acknowledged that gaps in the law had complicated the implementation of the reward system.
“There are gaps in the law relating to paying the whistleblower. The Act provides for the five per cent, but the mechanism for implementation is not clear,” Muhairwe said.
She also called for a dedicated government budget to facilitate payments to whistleblowers, saying the absence of specific funding made timely compensation difficult.
“We need to have a special budget for such whistleblowers. Without it, it becomes difficult to effect these payments in time,” she added.
The concerns raise questions about the implementation of the whistleblower reward framework and whether the government has adequate funding and procedures to ensure that people who provide information leading to the recovery of public funds receive their stipulated rewards.