The two are like Siamese twins. Their cooperation and understanding of public service and service delivery is unmatched. They work till late. They have total loyalty to the father of the country and our great leader, Gen. Yoweri Museveni.
The Minister for Presidency, Honourable Milly Babirye Babalanda and Haji Yunus Kakande, the Secretary, Office of the President have, in many ways, steered the Ministry. They have revamped the psychology of public service. They have reinvigorated the energy of all workers—and like the youth say, this dynamic duo has brought vibe into the Presidency Ministry.
From the office attendant, cleaner to even the always stubborn Resident District Commissioners (RDC), the vibe is always present.
The term started with the launch of the Strategic Plan for the Ministry. They also rolled out the Service Delivery Standards and the Client Charter. They were visionary documents that aimed at strengthening public sector performance. These documents also enhanced transparency and reaffirmed Government’s commitment to serve the citizens of Uganda with excellence.
According to Babalanda and Kakande, service delivery to citizens is a must do—and all RDCs were put on high alert to ensure that serve the people.
In fact, I recall that during the launch of these three documents Kabira Country Club in Kampala, Babalanda said the three instruments were not merely administrative documents but a public commitment, a social contract between the Office of the President and the citizens of Uganda defining what services they deliver, how they deliver them, and within what timelines.
The Minister for Presidency further noted that the Client Charter sets out the services offered by the Office of the President, the standards citizens should expect and the responsibilities of both the Office and the public.
Like a true leader with a compass, the Minister said the three documents also reflect His Excellency President Yoweri Museveni’s call for a Government that is transparent, accountable, and close to the people.
Indeed, true to her word, during her tenure, the Office of the Presidency and Presidency Ministry have reflected the vision of serving the people above self. Accountability has also been a key aspect of this visionary goal.
Under Babalanda and Kakande’s watch, all public servants, including RDCs, were tasked to clearly define service expectations of the citizens, timelines to deliver were also earmarked and feedback mechanisms to hear from citizens, especially their pressing concerns, were developed.
These guiding documents, especially the Client Charter, has indeed, over time, strengthened trust between citizens and Government. It has also empowered Ugandans to demand quality and timely services, and it has, to a great extent, guided the Office of the Presidency to deliver with consistency, integrity, and efficiency values.
At at the core of this, of course, is the President’s vision for a people-centred public service.
The Minister and the Secretary have also ensured that these Service Delivery Standards translate into commitments with measurable expectations for staff across all Departments.
These documents have indeed been our guiding principles. And the fruits, for the last five years, are easy to see. We have used this guidance from the Minister and the Secretary to promote efficiency, professionalism, and ethical conduct—pillars of effective governance that His Excellency, Gen. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, continues to champion.
These guiding principles have also ensured that we work as a team and in unity. These standards have also reinforced President Yoweri Katuga Museveni’s message that the Government must serve the ordinary Ugandan with discipline, diligence and excellence.
So, armed with this unified framework that our leaders, Minister Babalanda and Kakande gave us, we have strengthened our internal operations. This vision of the Minister and the Secretary have also given birth to a results-oriented culture that places citizens and National priorities at the centre of public service.
This is also rooted and aligned with the National Development Plan, Government policy direction, and President Yoweri Museveni’s focus on improved governance and accountability.
With the Minister’s guidance, a clear roadmap for programme supervision, security and intelligence coordination, citizen engagement, institutional strengthening, and effective oversight of public administration was rolled out. This has helped all staff at the Presidency Ministry to work towards President Yoweri Museveni’s mission and vision for Uganda—securing Uganda’s future through stability, prosperity, and efficient service delivery.
Honourable Babalanda’s commitment to greater openness; measurable performance; efficiency in service delivery; and responsiveness to citizens’ needs remains one of the guiding principles for all staff at the Presidency Ministry.
The Minister also always tells staff to lead by example in public administration and to set the standard for the rest of Government.
So, as lower cadres we have integrated these tools into our daily operations, and we have largely made them our guiding principles in the planning, service delivery and decision-making processes.
Honourable Babalanda’s vision on service delivery has also become the blue print for all RDCs within their respective areas of jurisdiction.
These principles have also enabled RDC to amplify His Excellency Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s clarion call to all leaders to champion effective service delivery through initiatives such as the Parish Development Model (PDM), Emyooga, the Youth Livelihood Programme (YLP), and other poverty alleviation programmes.
Minister Babalanda and Secretary Kakande’s vision on service delivery to citizens has also enabled all staff, especially RDCs, to to assess the progress of various Government programmes, including the PDM, and identify gaps and notify Government on how to fix these gaps.
With this vision from Honourable Minister, RDCs, who are mandated to monitor Government programmes, have risen to the occasion, and in most cases, they have taken decisive action.
This has enabled Government and the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) to safeguard and consolidate the gains.
This is the mission and vision that all citizens must embrace.
At one time, the Secretary-Office of the President, Kakande, said the all staff must embrace President Yoweri Museveni’s collective resolve to strengthen leadership, accountability and service excellence within the public service of Uganda.
So, these principles as rolled out by Honourable Babalanda and Secretary Kakande, symbolized a moment of renewal for the Office of the President, an opportunity to reflect deeply on the constitutional mandate, national responsibilities and the aspirations of the citizens we serve.
So, for the past five years, under the guidance of Honourable Babalanda, the focus of all staff has been tailored on how to ensure higher household incomes across the country’s homesteads, full monetization of the economy and employment for socio-economic transformation.
They have also over and over guided that we should not get our eyes off the major focus—sustaining industrialization for inclusive growth, employment and sustainable wealth creation.
Therefore, the strategic plan as rolled out by Minister Babalanda and Kakande provided a clear and ambitious roadmap for enhancing the effectiveness, visibility and impact of our work.
By anchoring the plan on the need to ensure that the citizen is and must always remain at the centre of public administration, our work was well cut out. And under the guidance of Honourable Babalanda, the foundation of a more responsive, people-centred and result-oriented Office of the President was set, and in the last five years, the results are everywhere for one to see.
Every team, every unit, every section, and every individual or staff at the Presidency Ministry took charge of Honourable Babalanda’s vision and it was translated into action—into the decisions we make every day and the way we respond to those we serve.
The Minister’s vision has also enabled us navigate the current operating environment that is rapidly evolving. It also prepared us to operate in the face of e-government services where the job of a Public Servant is facing an increasing demand for transparency, efficiency, digital transformation, and service excellence—often in the context of constrained resources and complex risks.
Honourable Babalanda’s Strategic Plan ensured that we acknowledge these current realities that public service requires, and respond with a clear, disciplined, and forward-looking approach – which in turn will provide a coherent framework to guide decision-making, resource allocation, and performance measurement for the Office of the President.
Yet for those who know Babalanda closely, it is not surprising that she has delivered.
A loyal, dependable, reliable, and tested National Resistance Movement (NRM) cadre, who is a believer in God, are some of the words that can best describe Babalanda.
Born on December 5, 1970 to Mr. Sosani Magunda and the late Namuwaya Ruth of Nalinaibi Village, Nawantumbi Parish, Nawanyago Sub-County, Buzaaya County in Kamuli District, Babalanda is married to Pastor Samuel Babalanda of the Seventh Day Adventist Church.
She met the father of the country and our dear leader of the NRM revolution, President Yoweri Museveni, in December 2010 in Jinja.
At the time, she was a simple NRM mobiliser in Kamuli.
However, when she made a spirited submission on matters of poverty alleviation in Busoga sub-region, President Museveni picked interest in her. The President also made a commitment to support her poverty-alleviation initiatives.
After the 2011 general elections, she received a telephone call from His Excellency, President Yoweri Museveni, appreciating her submission on poverty alleviation in Busoga sub region.
The President also asked if she could work with him, especially on the move to eradicate poverty.
This was Honourable Babalanda’s turning point in life.
Fast forward, the President appointed her as Deputy RDC Busia in 2014. Later in 2015, he deployed her as the Assistant Head of the NRM National Chairman’s office at Mbuya, headed by Honourable Molly Kamukama Nawe.
Later, after the 2016 elections, he appointed her as Senior Presidential Advisor on Political Affairs and head of the NRM National Chairman’s office assisted by Mr. Kirunda Faruk, the current Deputy Press Secretary.
Later on, the President appointed her as Minister in Charge of the Presidency.
This is the story of Babalanda, the “humble village girl” from the districts of Kamuli and Buyende.
It is no wonder that the people of Budiope West in Buyende district overwhelmingly elected her as their MP during the just-concluded 2026 general polls.
According to voters in Buyende, they elected Babalanda to save them from years of bondage as orphans.
It is a story of the lady from Buyende who has not only changed the Ministry for Presidency, but she has also ensured that she personally monitors government projects, gather people’s challenges and fix them using the President’s Office.
Babalanda is indeed a loud testament that she is a good mobiliser for President Yoweri Museveni and a trusted NRM cadre, who has delivered social-economic transformation.
The writer is the Deputy RCC Kampala City -Kawempe Division and a member of the Rotary club of Kasangati
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