Lira City, Uganda: The State Minister for Economic Monitoring, Beatrice Akello Akori, has tasked Resident District Commissioners (RDCs) and Resident City Commissioners (RCCs) to strengthen oversight of government programmes to ensure improved service delivery across the country.
Akello made the call on Wednesday while addressing RDCs, Deputy RDCs, RCCs, their deputies, and Assistant RDCs and RCCs during a three-day capacity-building meeting held at Lira Hotel.
The training, organised for officials from the Office of the President, aims to deepen their understanding of key government programmes and strengthen their role in monitoring public service delivery.
“Your primary responsibility is to ensure that government programmes are effectively implemented and that services reach the people they are meant to serve,” Akello said.
She emphasised that RDCs and RCCs play a crucial role in monitoring public projects across sectors such as health, education, infrastructure and agriculture.
“Government invests huge resources in these programmes, but the real measure of success is whether the ordinary citizen can feel the impact. That is why monitoring must be strengthened at the district and city levels,” she added.
Akello urged the commissioners to remain vigilant in identifying gaps in service delivery and ensuring accountability in the use of public funds.
“As representatives of the President in the districts and cities, you must ensure accountability. Where there are delays, misuse of funds or poor performance, you must raise the alarm and ensure corrective action is taken,” she said.
RCC Egole calls for law amendment on road committees
During the meeting, Lira Resident City Commissioner Lawrence Egole called for amendments to the law to allow RDCs and RCCs to sit on district road committees. He argued that the absence of commissioners on the committees has created oversight gaps, which he said contribute to the mismanagement of road funds.
“We need the law to be amended so that RDCs and RCCs can sit on the district road committees because we are the ones mandated to monitor government programmes on the ground,” Egole said.
He added that involving the commissioners would strengthen accountability and ensure that funds allocated for road construction and maintenance are properly utilised.
“There are concerns that funds meant for road construction and maintenance are sometimes mismanaged at the expense of service delivery. If we are part of these committees, we can provide stronger oversight,” he noted.
Egole emphasised that poor road infrastructure has direct consequences on service delivery, including access to markets, schools and health facilities. “When roads are poorly managed despite the funds allocated, it is the wananchi who suffer. That is why monitoring must be strengthened,” he said.
Akello said the engagement was designed to strengthen the commissioners’ oversight role. “This engagement is meant to strengthen your capacity so that you can better track government programmes, identify implementation challenges and ensure that service delivery improves across the country,” she said.
She also encouraged the officials to work closely with local leaders and technical staff to ensure government interventions achieve the intended results. “Monitoring is not about fault-finding; it is about ensuring that government programmes deliver results for the people of Uganda,” Akello added.
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