The Minister for Presidency, Hon. Babirye Milly Babalanda has cautioned the Resident District Commissioners (RDCs) and Resident City Commissioners (RCCs) against misusing their office and mandate.
According to the Minister ,RDCs are supervised and they get orders from H.E the President, the Minister for the Presidency, the Secretary, Office of the President and the Head, RDC Secretariat.
“RDCs are not supervised and neither do they receive orders from politicians. You are bound to make costly mistakes when you take this route,”she warned.
The Minister made the remarks today while closing a 3-day capacity building workshop for RDCs/RCCs, Deputy RDCs/RCCs, Assistant RDCs/RCCs, RISOs and DISOs in Teso and Sebei sub-regions, held at Akello Hotel, Soroti City.
The Minister cited an example of one of the RDCs in Katakwi who recently ordered the imprisonment of Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL) staff allegedly using the name of one of the leaders in the district.
During the incident, the UEDCL staff were arrested and put in prison with a 3-month-old infant, even before any investigations were done.
“I condemn this action which puts the office of the President in disrepute. As RDC you are not Police. If there is a need for arresting suspects, RDCs must use the Police rather than give misleading orders,” she said.
“In any case the issue of power going off and on is not a matter in the control of a UEDCL staff. There are several underlying factors at play including poles falling, unpredicted weather changes, short circuits or even major line interruptions etc.”
Hon. Babalanda added that she has even received a complaint from the Vice President who is also the Woman Member of Parliament for Katakwi condemning the actions of the RDC.
“This particular RDC is under investigation and if it is confirmed that there was wrongful action, he will appear before the rewards and sanctions committee of the Presidency,” she noted.
On the other hand, Hon. Babalanda thanked some of the RDCs who are listening to the advice and instructions of their supervisors and have completely adjusted their working environments to allow for accountable decision making, good team work and cordial relationships.
“We are already seeing the fruits of this,” she said.
On the matter of corruption, Hon. Babalanda urged the RDCs to continue fighting hard to eliminate these instances in their districts and also desist from involving themselves from the vice.
“As the Office of the President, we are champions of a corrupt-free country. We do not work with corrupt staff. If you are caught red-handed, no one will defend you. You will be individually subjected to the full course of the law just like any other Ugandan,” she cautioned
“I invite you to learn from the fountain of honor; His Excellency the President who constantly makes reference to the Constitution in every action and decision he takes. Yet as President you would assume he would act the other way, like those he succeeded. You must follow the law and be guided by it.”
Furthermore, Hon. Babalanda tasked the participants to take keen interest in the security situation in their districts during this festive season.
“The level of insecurity is heightened during this time of the year through petty and organized crimes at family and society levels including the terrible dangers caused by reckless driving on our roads. I ask the RDCs and DISOs to strongly team up and map strategies for securing your areas,” she said.
“I also ask you to stay free from divisive politics. Some of you had already started taking sides in the politics of Teso. I caution you not to be used to meet the selfish interests of certain leaders. You will be charged in the rewards and sanctions committee as an individual.”
Hon. Babalanda also reiterated her earlier confirmation that President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni will stand again for Presidency in 2026 general elections.
“Also, as I underlined it in Mbale recently; I need to confirm to you that the fountain of honor, H.E. the President of the Republic of Uganda will stand in the coming General Elections. I therefore ask that you continue doing your work of auditing, monitoring and supervising government programs, bearing this in mind.”
The former Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Hon. Daudi Migereko informed the RDCs that they are supposed to mobilise the masses to embrace President Yoweri Museveni’s message of socio-economic transformation.
“Our President is every day moving around the country talking about the mission of the NRM. Recently he was here to pass the message and the people he leaves behind is you because you have to intensify his message among the masses in your respective districts,” Hon. Migereko said.
“You should mobilise people so that they are in the position to do what H.E the President is preaching. Once you do a good job, everything will be good.”
Hon. Migereko further underscored the crucial role of mobilisation in helping the commissioners in fulfilling their mandate.
“Get involved in this work of mobilisation so that you are able to bring everybody on board to realize your goals,” he urged.
He further tipped the participants on the important tools such as the constitution of the Republic of Uganda, Local government Act, Land Act, the NRM Manifesto, National Development Plan III and Annual budgets that could help them in effective mobilisation.
Hon. Migereko also urged the RDCs to ensure support for the government among the masses.
“You should have the reports of the Electoral performance ever since we adopted the Multi party system. The performance of your district matters a lot because poor performance here will lead to poor performance generally,” he noted.
Hon. Migereko, who also served as the Minister for Lands, Housing and Urban Development, also reminded the RDCs that they are in charge of the security in their areas of jurisdiction and once they fail on that front, their mobilisation endeavors will also fail.
“Those days when cattle rustling was much in the Karamoja region, winning an election was hard on the side of the NRM, because that criminality threatened the tranquility of the people in this area,” he said.
“The same applied in Northern Uganda when Kony was a menace. So the message is very clear, if there’s no security and peace in an area, government support is not there but the moment you work on security everything will be easy. Take keen interest in security reports from security agencies like ISO. Any report that comes to you as the Chairperson of the Security Committee, kindly take interest in it and call for a meeting and discuss it.”
He also urged the RDCs to sensitise the masses to embrace government programs like the PDM and GROW that will help them to eradicate poverty.
“Ensure that there’s economic empowerment among the people in your areas of jurisdiction. You should mobilise the people to create wealth and enhance their household incomes,” he said.
Additionally, Hon. Migereko tasked the RDCs to ensure that they carry out cadre identification, arguing that these cadres are the key people the former can rely on for continuity of work.
“Discuss with them the NRM ideology so that they can go back and spread the message. In mobilisation, those are the people you rely on. Identify potential and take advantage of it, promote those people to do work for you and the NRM, they will even work for no pay.”
The Deputy Director General of the Internal Security Organization (ISO), Col. Emmy Katabazi advised that it was imperative for leaders as RDCs to study tools like political economy and ideological development that help them to analyse society and be able to fulfill their mandate.
“Leadership is not by accident, it’s not by osmosis. it’s a deliberate effort by you as an individual to prepare for those positions,” he said.
Col. Katabazi also urged the commissioners to intensify their efforts in mobilising Ugandans to embrace government programs like the PDM so that they fully benefit.
“If you don’t contribute well, some of you are likely to lose your jobs,” he cautioned.
“In UPE we are losing Shs1.6 trillion under ghost learners and you are just there doing nothing.”
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