By Eye Media Uganda | Kampala | August 5, 2026
The Minister for the Presidency, Hon. Babirye Milly Babalanda, on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, warned that collusion between some Chief Administrative Officers (CAOs) and Resident District Commissioners (RDCs) is fueling corruption and leaving government projects unfinished despite full payment to contractors.
Babalanda made the remarks while addressing Local Government leaders at Imperial Royale Hotel in Kampala during a meeting on the implementation of President Yoweri Museveni’s directive to expose and eliminate corruption.
She said reports received by government indicate that some CAOs and RDCs have colluded to falsely certify incomplete projects, approve payments for non-existent works, conceal shoddy construction and manipulate monitoring reports.
“When these two offices work together honestly, government succeeds, but when they collude, corruption flourishes,” Babalanda said, adding that the practice has left classrooms cracking before learners occupy them, health centres unfinished, roads washed away after the first rains and markets incomplete despite contractors receiving full payment.
The minister directed RDCs, DISOs and GISOs to submit truthful, objective and evidence-based reports to the Presidency. She said government will not tolerate officials who compromise their oversight responsibilities.
Babalanda also raised concern over corruption in the education sector, citing ghost learners under Universal Primary Education (UPE) and Universal Secondary Education (USE), inflated enrolment figures and teachers who abandon duty stations before hiring unqualified people to teach as they share government salaries.
“I therefore call upon all GISOs, DISOs and RDCs to execute their duties with integrity and professionalism. The children of Uganda deserve honesty. Taxpayers deserve accountability,” she said.
In the health sector, the minister condemned the diversion of government medicines and warned health workers against hoarding drugs in public health facilities before referring patients to their private clinics.
“Every government medicine belongs to the people of Uganda and must never become merchandise for personal enrichment. Those involved in these practices should desist immediately because government investigations are intensifying,” she warned.
Babalanda also cautioned District Service Commissions against turning public recruitment into a commercial enterprise through bribery, nepotism, favouritism and sexual exploitation. She said government jobs are not for sale and recruitment must always be based on merit.
She noted that corruption slows investment, discourages innovation and delays national transformation. She urged political leaders, accounting officers, security agencies and oversight institutions to work together to expose, prevent and eliminate corruption.
The minister commended the Ministry of Local Government and the RDC institution for inspection exercises that have exposed weaknesses in public service delivery. She also praised Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba for supporting the President’s fight against corruption.
The meeting was attended by ministers, permanent secretaries, district chairpersons, mayors, CAOs, RDCs, DISOs, GISOs and other local government leaders.
