The Secretary-Office of the President, Hajji Yunus Kakande has implored the the Resident District Commissioners (RDCs), Resident City Commissioners (RCCs) and their deputies to use their mandate as provided in the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda to protect tenants from illegal land evictions.
“You are aware that the President directed you, the RDCs, that even if you get the court order on matters of land, you must sit as the District Security Committee and even go on the locus to ascertain facts,” he said.
Hajji Kakande made the remarks today while officiating at the opening of a 3-day capacity building workshop for the RDCs, RCCs, their deputies, DISOs and RISO in Greater Masaka sub-region held at Hotel Brovad, Masaka City.
The Secretary-Office of the President urged the commissioners to be extra vigilant when it comes to the issue of land evictions in order to save the country from instabilities that could be caused by disgruntled tenants.
“It’s true that someone may get a land title on the land but it has over 500 occupants who have been on that land for years, you cannot evict such people and sell the land. That cannot work. It’s up to you to ensure that such people are protected,” he advised.
“Since you are the representative of the President, your role is to concretize the settlement of these people wherever they are. If the government gets money in the future, it can compensate all landlords but not evict people who have settled on the land for years.”
Hajji Kakande also appealed to the Commissioners to use the law to deal with government officials who connive with the landlords to frustrate bonafide occupants.
“We have a law in place protecting the bonafide occupants, why don’t we protect them? If someone like the DPC is playing games with landlords, cause their arrest. The land issue is not only in Buganda, it’s all over the country. Every citizen has a right to settle anywhere around the country,” he noted.
Hajji Kakande further advised the participants to align with the NRM government’s objectives and improve its visibility in their areas of jurisdiction to ensure that people appreciate the contribution of the NRM so that they re-elect the party back to government in 2026.
“We must work hard to consolidate the gains and achievements of the NRM government and ensure that they are popularised and seen by the local masses. This is the only way your role as an RDC or DISO will be much appreciated in the forthcoming elections in 2026,” he noted.
Additionally, Hajji Kakande urged the commissioners and DISOs to interest themselves in the fourth National Development Plan so that they are equipped with knowledge and information necessary to support their routine communication on national media to local masses.
“This will also solve the problem of having RDCs and DISOs ignorant of government projects and programs, yet they must hold the district leadership accountable,” he said.
“I would like to emphasise that; effective monitoring is not solely about tracking metrics but about transforming lives. Let’s apply the knowledge gained to: strengthen institutional capabilities, enhance service delivery; foster citizen trust;drive inclusive growth and leave a lasting legacy.”
Hajji Kakande also reminded the participants that the main objective of the retreat is to re-echo the fundamental role they play in serving the interests of H.E the President in their respective areas of responsibilities and supporting seamless implementation of the government programs and projects for the wellbeing of Ugandans.
“This retreat therefore, is intended to strengthen your abilities to track progress, ensure accountability and enhance citizen-centred governance,” he said.
He added that as field cadres of the Presidency, the Commissioners are key players in ensuring that the citizens get the services that are due to them.
“This is on the understanding that you are closest to the citizenry and are representatives of H.E the President in your respective districts.”
The Assistant Commissioner in charge of Finance and Planning-Office of the President, Hajji Sadat Kisuyi took the participants through a paper on Monitoring and Evaluation of government programs.
He said government institutions as service providers have a legal and moral responsibility to deliver excellent services to the public.
“Efficiency and effectiveness in service delivery enables the public service to keep pace with citizens’ growing demands for accessible, adequate, high quality, timely and cost effective public service,” Hajji Sadat said.
He explained that it is the delivery of smarter, faster services and at a lesser cost that determines quality of the life of people.
“To this effect, a number of oversight initiatives have been implemented over time at improving the capacity and performance of the public service as the implementing arm of the government,” he expounded.
The Director of Manifesto Implementation Unit-Office of the President, Mr. Willis Bashaasha informed the commissioners that they have an important role of overseeing the effective implementation of all Manifesto commitments under their areas of jurisdiction.
“You are supposed to monitor implementation of the Central and local government services in the district, act as Chairperson of the District Security Committee and carry out such functions as may be assigned by the President or prescribed by Parliament by law,” he said.
Mr. Bashaasha further emphasised teamwork in the Office of the RDC/RCC and all other leaders to ensure that they fulfil their mandate.
“You should work towards eliminating personal differences and ensure that service delivery goes beyond the political parties that we belong to,” he noted.
“I also encourage you alas leaders to read all the various literatures about government work e.g guidelines, statistics and current affairs. The other literature may include the constitution,National Development Plan, NRM Manifesto, District Development plans, the Parish Development Model guidelines, among others. This will eliminate absence of knowledge during service delivery.”
The Head of the RDC Secretariat, Maj. Martha Asiimwe informed the meeting that the capacity building workshop aims to remind the Commissioners and DISOs about their core mandates of supervision, monitoring and effective representation of the Central Government and H.E the President of the Republic of Uganda.
“It also aims at refocusing you to critical and prioritised government programs, policies and projects where you should adhere to set objectives and ultimate goals,” she said.
Maj. Asiimwe added that the workshop aims to equip the RDCs and DISOs with more appropriate skills and tools to enhance their operations in their respective areas of jurisdiction.
“Here we also share with you contemporary challenges affecting your operations in the field.”
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