Kampala, Uganda: Equity Bank Uganda has rolled out a sweeping internal reform initiative dubbed the “Culture of Accountability”, designed to reinforce ethical conduct, performance discipline, and internal transparency across all departments and branches.
The programme, announced last week on Thursday, July 3, by Equity Bank Managing Director Gift Shoko, includes routine behaviour audits, conflict-of-interest checks, whistleblower protections, and artificial intelligence-assisted performance reviews aimed at rooting out fraud and misconduct.
“This is part of our long-term commitment to our culture, safeguarding staff and customers,” said Mr Shoko. “The exercise is structured, fair, and grounded in our existing corporate philosophies and governance policies. Termination is not the goal, but serious misconduct will be met with appropriate disciplinary action.”
Mr Shoko added that the initiative is not reactive to a specific scandal but rather a proactive measure inspired by the Group’s top leadership. “It was a bold step led by our Group CEO and implemented across all markets. Integrity is a critical value for us,” he stated.
The Culture of Accountability initiative introduces multiple new measures; Regular staff conduct audits to detect and prevent ethical breaches, clear disclosure guidelines for conflicts of interest, whistleblower safe spaces for staff and clients, ethics training and the use of artificial intelligence to monitor transactional anomalies, and confidential feedback channels within HR to ensure due process and fairness.
Mr Shoko revealed that the bank had already engaged external law firms and auditors to help complete the exercise, expected to conclude by the end of this month. “We are trying to sanction selfish behaviour. Where staff failed to justify certain client benefits or financial links, disciplinary processes have been initiated,” he said.
“If a staff member cannot explain the benefit they received from a client or the purpose of that benefit, then we have no choice but to take appropriate sanctions,” he added.
He confirmed that in some cases, especially in Kenya, followed by Uganda, the bank uncovered shocking patterns of unexplained transactions during AI-backed disbursement reviews. Some staff members offered satisfactory explanations; others did not and faced formal consequences.
“This process isn’t about fear, it’s about restoring trust, improving governance, and reinforcing our institutional values of Professionalism, Integrity, Creativity, Teamwork, Reliability, and Excellence,” the MD emphasized.
The campaign is part of a wider group-wide transformation across all Equity Bank markets, underlining the lender’s effort to lead the financial sector in ethics-based leadership and risk governance.
If you would like your article/opinion to be published on Uganda’s most authoritative news platform, send your submission on: [email protected]. You can also follow DailyExpress on WhatsApp and on Twitter (X) for realtime updates.
