The Minister In-charge of Presidency, Hon. Babirye Milly Babalanda has officially opened the Bushenyi Resident District Commissioner (RDC) Office.
While presiding over the function at the Office premises in Bwatoogo on Friday, Hon. Babalanda said she was not only in Bushenyi to open the office block but also to ensure that the services offered by the office of the RDC are greatly improved.
“I am grateful to the Secretary, Office of the President and the Technical Staff of the Office for implementing this activity in a short time but yet ensuring that the quality of the works is excellent,” she said.
“What makes an office is not largely the beautiful interiors or the large number of office blocks; but the services that are offered and the caliber of the people who are employed in that office.”
The Minister also commended the Bushenyi RDC, Mr. Robert Atuhairwe and his Deputy Ms. Rose Atuhairwe for performing well in their duties.
“Both of you are loyal, dependable, reliable, down to earth and respectful officers. You believe in the promotion of the four core principles of the NRM and implementation of government policies,” Hon. Babalanda asserted.
“I wish to as well commend the political leadership of Bushenyi for working well with our staff who are deployed in your district. This is unlike in the other districts where I get endless complaints and calls expressing concerns. Bushenyi is very peaceful. I sincerely encourage you to continue with this spirit of team work,”she added.
Hon. Babalanda further stated that while implementing government policies and the presidential directives, the RDCs do not act on their own accord.
“Indeed, if there are some who are operating to the contrary, we usually advise them to follow the stipulated guidelines, the public standing orders and the mission and goals of the Office of the President. Those who fail to comply are advised to leave,” she said.
“Therefore, when you see RDCs/RCCs implementing the policies of government aggressively and probably oppressing you in one way or the other; do not fight them; just support them and also change your management styles.”
The Minister also reminded the district leaders that RDCs as government representatives, are required to audit their performance and also to verify their application of public resources.
“This is their constitutional mandate as representatives of the President. It is not directed at anyone in the way of witch-hunting.I wish to remind all of you leaders that the people of Uganda have handed to us a 5-year mandate to serve them. After these 5 years we have to seek for a fresh mandate. However, if we have nothing to show and people are still in poverty, we are at risk of losing our seats. Yet as individuals you cannot fund government programs and projects. Your only role is to plan for the people and implement approved programs funded by the center and your local governments,”Hon. Babalanda informed the audience.
She said it was a big betrayal by leaders to embezzle money meant to change people’s lives and transform their communities.
“This is where we come in with the APEX platform to monitor service delivery and ensure that there is value for money from the application of public resources.While I serve as chairperson of the APEX platform at the national level; the RDCs here are the respective chairpersons of APEX at district and city levels.
We come in to audit your performance and to act on the corrupt, greedy and unpatriotic leaders. We are committed on this cause because we do not wish to be rejected by the voters on the account of these failures. All of us want to retain our jobs including H.E the President,” Hon. Babalanda cautioned, before calling upon leaders to multiple their efforts in ensuring that government programs that target poverty alleviation such as PDM, Emyoga etc, as well as those that are adding value to local products are fully promoted and implemented.
She said the culture of exporting products in raw form is very wasteful and backward.
“Uganda must move forward with the rest of the world by adding value to our products.”
The Bushenyi Woman Member of Parliament Bushenyi, Hon Annet K. Mugisha lauded the Office of the President for setting up a magnificent building that houses the office of the RDC. She also pledged to continue influencing the people of Bushenyi to support the NRM government under the able leadership of President Museveni.
“We are working as a team. We took a cohesion to work together for the common good of our people. The RDCs please also keep the candle burning, work as a team to be able to monitor and supervise government programs,” Hon. Mugisha noted.
On his part, the Secretary in the Office of the President, Hajji Yunus Kakande disclosed that they started the program of constructing offices for RDCs across the country in the year 2011, with a target of putting up 7 units per year but due to financial constraints, they have since managed to construct 17 office blocks in several districts since 2011.
“Out of the 17 blocks, three have been built in greater Bushenyi and this shows that Bushenyi has an upper hand because in eight years it has got 3 blocks,” Hajji Kakande said.
He added that the new block will house the offices of the RDC, the Deputy and the Diso, saying that they decided to put them under one roof because their roles complement each other.
“I would like to appreciate the project management team headed by the RDC for the vigilance that has led to the timely completion of the project. It has been completed in 8 months.”
The RDC, Mr. Robert Atuhairwe assured the Minister that as district leaders they are doing everything to ensure that Bushenyi progresses socially and economically.
“This development is a testimony that the President loves Bushenyi and willing to take it to the next level of development.I would like to commend the district leaders, the technical wing and the contractor for the job well done. The Partnership that has existed during the construction of the office will stay in place when it comes to service delivery,”Mr. Atuhairwe commented.
The Bushenyi LCV Chairperson, Mr. Jafari Basajjabalaba extended his sincere gratitude to President Museveni for spurring development in Bushenyi through creating a peaceful and conducive environment that has enabled residents to create wealth.
“We are very happy and not complaining,” he said.
At the same function, the NRM leaders in Bushenyi led by Mr. Basajjabalaba endorsed President Museveni as the party’s sole candidate for the 2026 presidential elections.
“His Excellency the President still has the capability and stamina to lead this country until 2031.As NRM leaders in Bushenyi, we endorse him for another term in Office (2026-2031),” Mr. Basajjabalaba opined.
On the other hand, some members of the Opposition from Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) officially joined NRM. They were received by the Minister.
The event was also attended by the Director of Manifesto Implementation, Mr. Willis Bashaasha, RDC Secretariat Officials, Maj. Martha Asiimwe and Mr. James Tweheyo, NWSC Executive Director Eng. Silver Mugisha, district security heads among other officials.
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