The Minister for the Presidency, Hon. Babirye Milly Babalanda, has warned local government leaders against engaging in corrupt practices, saying collusion among public officials is undermining service delivery, wasting public resources and slowing Uganda’s socio-economic transformation.
Speaking during a meeting of local government leaders at Imperial Royale Hotel in Kampala on the implementation of President Yoweri Museveni’s directive to expose and eliminate corruption, Babalanda described corruption as one of the country’s biggest obstacles to development.
She said every public official has a duty to protect government resources and ensure that public funds are used for their intended purpose.
“Corruption is the theft of opportunities from our children, medicines from our patients, classrooms from our learners, roads from our farmers, and ultimately the theft of hope from our people,” Babalanda said.
She noted that every shilling lost through corruption deprives Ugandans of essential services, including healthcare, education, clean water, roads and improved livelihoods, adding that President Museveni has directed all government institutions to intensify the fight against graft without fear or favour.
The minister identified collusion among government officials as one of the major drivers of corruption in local governments, pointing to reported cooperation between some Chief Administrative Officers (CAOs) and Resident District Commissioners (RDCs) in facilitating fraudulent activities.
According to Babalanda, such collusion has resulted in the certification of incomplete projects, payments for non-existent works, concealment of poor-quality construction and manipulation of official monitoring reports.
“When these two offices work together honestly, government succeeds, but when they collude, corruption flourishes,” she said.
She warned that the consequences are visible across the country, where classrooms develop cracks before they are occupied, health centres remain unfinished despite contractors receiving full payment, roads deteriorate after the first rains, and markets remain incomplete long after project funds have been released.
Babalanda directed RDCs, District Internal Security Officers (DISOs) and Gombolola Internal Security Officers (GISOs) to submit truthful, objective and evidence-based reports to the Presidency, saying accurate reporting is essential in exposing corruption.
She also expressed concern about widespread malpractice in the education sector, including inflated enrolment figures under the Universal Primary Education (UPE) and Universal Secondary Education (USE) programmes, as well as absentee teachers who illegally employ unqualified individuals to teach on their behalf while sharing government salaries.
“I therefore call upon all GISOs and DISOs, together with RDCs, to execute their duties with integrity and professionalism. The children of Uganda deserve honesty. Taxpayers deserve accountability,” she said.
Turning to the health sector, Babalanda condemned the diversion of government medicines for private gain and the practice of withholding drugs in public health facilities before referring patients to private clinics.
“Every government medicine belongs to the people of Uganda and must never become merchandise for personal enrichment. Those involved in these practices should desist immediately because government investigations are intensifying,” she warned.
The minister further cautioned District Service Commissions against turning public recruitment into what she described as a commercial enterprise.
She said government jobs should never be secured through bribery, nepotism, favouritism or sexual exploitation, warning that corrupt recruitment processes undermine merit and weaken public service delivery.
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