NAMUTUMBA: Minister for the Presidency Milly Babirye Babalanda has warned that her office will not shield or defend Resident District Commissioners (RDCs) accused of corruption, saying officials entrusted with representing the President must uphold the highest standards of integrity.
Babalanda said RDCs, Resident City Commissioners (RCCs), their deputies and assistants must actively monitor government programmes, protect public resources and ensure that services reach citizens.
“I have conducted several capacity-building workshops and cautioned RDCs, Deputies and their Assistants against corrupt tendencies, but some have failed to listen to our guidelines,” Babalanda said.
“RDCs are the President’s representatives in the districts. Their core mandate is to monitor Government programmes, protect public resources and ensure that services reach the people equitably. However, some have gone to the extent of requesting fuel from wananchi before going to the field, as if the Government does not facilitate them. I am not willing to defend corrupt RDCs,” she added.
Babalanda made the remarks on Friday during a fundraising drive for the construction of Ivukula Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church in Nsinze Town Council, Namutumba District.
She spoke shortly after an anti-corruption operation in Pallisa District in which more than 20 district officials were arrested or subsequently interdicted to facilitate investigations into allegations including gross negligence of duty, abuse of office, mismanagement of public resources and possible financial impropriety.
The operation was conducted on October 1, 2026, as part of the Ministry of Local Government’s “Expose the Corrupt” campaign led by the Minister for Local Government Balaam Barugahara Ateenyi.
Pallisa Resident District Commissioner Dikusoka Majidu was among the officials named in connection with concerns raised during the operation.
The concerns reported in Pallisa included alleged irregularities surrounding the Parish Development Model (PDM), missing government assets, questionable expenditure on roads and water services, and complaints of alleged extortion of PDM and Emyooga beneficiaries.
Babalanda, whose docket supervises RDCs, RCCs, deputy RDCs and assistant RDCs, said the developments highlighted the importance of ensuring that presidential representatives at district level remain accountable.
She said RDCs should not wait for ministers or other senior government officials to visit their districts before responding to problems within their areas of responsibility.
Instead, she said, they should identify challenges, monitor government programmes and act whenever they encounter abuse of public resources or failures in service delivery.
“The President’s message has been unequivocal: corruption must be confronted at the point of discovery, rather than waiting for months before action is taken, when evidence may have disappeared,” Babalanda said.
She said the President had given renewed impetus to field-based monitoring and accountability initiatives aimed at identifying problems at the grassroots.
According to Babalanda, government officials implicated in extorting money from PDM SACCOs, soliciting bribes in exchange for jobs or colluding with technical staff to divert public resources would face the applicable administrative and criminal processes.
She said disciplinary measures, including recall or interdiction, would be taken where appropriate, while cases involving possible criminal offences would be referred to investigative and prosecutorial agencies.
The minister cited similar interventions in other districts, including Bududa, where several officials were arrested over allegations of corruption, abuse of office, misuse of public funds and theft.
Babalanda, however, stressed that allegations against government officials must be subjected to due process and that those accused should be investigated in accordance with the law.
She said integrity, patriotism, accountability and performance would remain important considerations in the appointment and retention of RDCs and RCCs.
“This time round, President Museveni will only appoint patriots to take on RDC and RCC responsibilities. If you are corrupt, you cannot be the President’s eye in the district,” she said.
The “Expose the Corrupt” campaign has adopted a grassroots approach involving barazas, field inspections and engagement with citizens to identify problems affecting service delivery.
The Ministry of Local Government says the campaign is intended to strengthen accountability and ensure that public resources, including funds under programmes such as PDM and Emyooga, reach their intended beneficiaries.
At the same fundraising event, Babalanda encouraged residents to take advantage of government wealth-creation programmes, including PDM, Emyooga, the Youth Livelihood Programme, Operation Wealth Creation (OWC) and the GROW Project.
She said government had invested substantial resources in programmes intended to increase household incomes, create employment and reduce poverty.
The minister urged residents to adopt the Four-Acre Model, with one acre dedicated to coffee or cocoa, another to fruits, a third to food crops and the fourth to pasture for zero-grazing.
She said the model could be complemented by backyard enterprises such as vegetable growing and poultry keeping.
Babalanda also thanked President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and the people of Busoga for attending and supporting her Thanksgiving ceremony held on September 23, 2026, at Iringa Township Primary School in Buyende District.
She conveyed greetings from President Museveni, the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports Janet Kataaha Museveni, Permanent Secretary in the Office of the President Hajji Yunus Kakande and staff of the Office of the President.
As part of her contribution to the church construction project, Babalanda donated 100 bags of cement to Ivukula SDA Church.
Her remarks centred on the need for greater accountability among government officials while encouraging communities to participate in government development and wealth-creation programmes.
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