The Minister of Local Government, Balaam Barugahara, has warned district leaders against poor service delivery, corruption, and mismanagement of public resources, saying the government will strengthen accountability across local governments.
Speaking durig a televised discussion on July 1st, 2026, Barugahara said effective public service depends on honest and competent leadership rather than infrastructure alone.
“A hospital isn’t a building. The people running a given hospital will make it work. This is why we must have clean leadership,” he said.
The minister announced plans to establish a call center to employ young people and provide citizens with a platform to report corruption at the village and parish levels.
“We are going to create a call center where young people will be employed. Here, people can call and complain about corruption in their villages and parishes,” Barugahara noted.
He issued a stern warning to districts that receive government funding but fail to deliver services.
“This is a warning to all districts that are given money but are not delivering. We shall not tolerate that,” he stressed.
Barugahara emphasized that accountability begins with local leadership, urging LCI chairpersons to actively monitor government programs in their communities.
“We need to be intentional and honest. It’s time to have LCI leaders who are transparent and honest. The Minister of Local Government doesn’t have to do everything. The LCI is supposed to follow up on government programs in his area,” he added.
He also vowed tougher action against underperforming officials, particularly Chief Administrative Officers (CAOs), stressing that monitoring and evaluation would be a key priority.
“We are not going to allow a poor-performing CAO to remain a CAO. Monitoring and evaluation is one key component we shall work on,” the minister noted.
The minister further condemned political interference in district recruitment processes, warning against lobbying for relatives to secure public jobs.
“I don’t want to hear that a minister has called the district service commission to lobby for their relatives to get a job at the district,” Barugahara said.
While acknowledging that limited funding remains a challenge for local governments, Barugahara insisted that available resources must be managed responsibly.
“Corruption alone isn’t the only thing affecting our local government. There is also limited funding, but we don’t want people to mismanage the funding we are sending however little. There is no reason why we should have a poorly performing local government when it’s given resources,” he noted.
He added that officials who fail to perform their duties will face consequences, saying those found neglecting their responsibilities could be referred to the State House Anti-Corruption Unit.
