The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Thomas Tayebwa has cautioned the recently appointed Assistant Resident District Commissioners (ARDCs) and Assistant Resident City Commissioners (ARCCs) against misuse of office, explaining that if they abuse their powers, they will not be able to fulfil their core mandate of representing the President in their respective areas of jurisdiction.
“Some RDCs want to appear feared and secure. I do hope that you don’t misuse your security and power to mistreat people. Some of you misuse your powers because you think you are untouchable since you were appointed by the President,” he said.
Rt. Hon. Tayebwa who congratulated the Assistant RDCs and RCCs for catching the eye of the appointing authority and selected them to serve the country, further advised the trainees that as they take up their duties, they should ensure that they create a good working relationship with fellow leaders for the good of the country.
“Build harmony with political leaders and avoid getting into personal and political wars with them. Political interference disrupts service delivery. You find the RDC taking part in party primaries. No one should misuse his government position to influence the NRM party primaries. You can do a good job in bridging rather than being used to fight political wars,” the Deputy Speaker noted.
“You should join the community because it is part of you. You must mobilise Ugandans to be patriotic, follow up on government projects and protect government property. Being appointed by the President does not mean that you are above the citizens,” he added.
Rt. Hon. Tayebwa further advised the Assistant RDCs and RCCs to always consult their supervisors before taking decisions that could cause repercussions.
“We don’t want RDCs to be a subject of discussion on where you get your authority from. Follow the President’s teachings and you will appreciate where we have come from and where we are heading. The President does not mistreat his people, you should be able to mingle with the citizens and execute your roles very well. But these RDCs forget that they get their salary from the consolidated fund which is passed by parliament. This factor alone qualifies them to be audited by Parliament and other government auditing agencies,” he said.
“The RDCs must be able to work with the local and national leaders through constant consultations, sharing of monitoring and accountability findings and resolving together on national and local issues that have a bearing on the local constituencies. These should be areas of special interest to the Assistant RDCs/RCCs as you start on your journey to serve the people.”
On the other hand, he implored the Assistant RDCs and RCCs to fight the rampant corruption in the local governments.
“There’s a lot of corruption which you must fight as the eyes and ears of the Central Government. There are also irregularities in the Parish Development Model (PDM) program. Up to now some leaders still charge people money to put them in the system. You should intervene and ensure that government programs like PDM and Emyooga succeed. I request you not to get involved in any corruption tendencies,” he urged.
The Minister of ICT and National Guidance, Dr. Chris Baryomunsi congratulated the trainees for being appointed Assistant RDCs and RCCs by His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Uganda.
He informed the participants that the National Resistance Movement (NRM) government under the stewardship of President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has been able to lead Uganda for the last 38 years due to the right ideology.
He explained that the government has managed to develop and secure the country due to the four core principles of the NRM which include Patriotism, Pan-Africanism, Socio-economic Transformation and democracy.
“As NRM, we promote patriotism and do not support sectarianism. NRM believes in respecting each other irrespective of our tribal and religious backgrounds. NRM believes that we are all Ugandans and we should stay united and proud. Pillar number two is Pan-Africanism. It means we don’t exist as an island; other countries are our sisters and brothers and we cannot exist alone. We need cooperation and working together with sister countries,” Hon. Baryomunsi said.
“Another principle is socio-economic transformation. In leadership, we must change the quality of lives of the people we lead in terms of life and welfare. Socio-economic transformation is one pillar which NRM cherishes. Democracy is the fourth pillar. And in brief it means to enable Ugandans to choose leaders they want. We believe in democracy that is why every 5 years we go into general elections.”
Dr. Baryomunsi further implored the Assistant RDCs and RCCs to mobilise Ugandans in their respective areas of jurisdiction to embrace government poverty alleviation programs to enhance their livelihoods.
“How do we ensure that Ugandans get out of poverty? That is why you hear of programs like Parish Development Model and Emyooga which are meant to help Ugandans move out of poverty. The RDC represents the central government at the local government level that means you are the eyes and ears of the Central Government. Therefore, you are expected to monitor all these programs that the government is executing. The President cannot be everywhere to monitor these programs. You must ensure that these programs work,” he noted.
“The PDM is the flagship program of the government and you must ensure that it succeeds.”
The Minister also urged the commissioners to utilise the free media airtime for the government to mobilise and sensitise masses about service delivery.
“We expect you to be communicators for the government. While on duty, you will receive a lot of people, please receive them very well and have good communication skills,” he said.
Hon. Baryomunsi also cautioned the Assistant RDCs and RCCs against corruption.
The Senior Presidential Advisor- Mobilisation, RDC Secretariat, Lt Col. (Rtd) Kibrai Ambako who presented a paper on revolutionary methods of work informed the trainees that revolutionary ideas are like seeds planted, germinate and evolve over time, influenced by factors like violation of human rights, unpopular economic policies, lack of services, political unrest, corruption, among others.
He however said that these factors do not reach full fruition until triggered by momentous innovation, event or action.
“The seed of the NRM revolution was shown in the early 1960s. It germinated, grew and was finally triggered to deliver in the 1980 during the general elections and its outcome that ushered Dr. Apollo Milton Obote into Presidency for the second time,” Lt. Col Ambako said.
Lt. Ambako added that since 1986, the NRM has consolidated the people’s victory and has registered massive achievements in the recovery and transformation of Uganda’s economy, peace and security, infrastructure, social/culture and political programs.
“To register the achievements, the revolution has been and still is guided by the vision, mission, strategic objectives and the use of revolutionary methods of work. Revolutionary methods of work are; the methods, skills, tools and tactics that are determined and employed after understanding the operational situation in a given area or an environment to cause progressive change,” he said.
Lt. Col Ambako further explained that the revolutionary methods of work are very important in facilitating operationalisation of mandates and offering leadership to address concerns, achieve service delivery, Socio-economic transformation and democracy towards securing the future of Ugandans..
“In driving the NRM revolution, the leadership and actors employed revolutionary methods of work starting with; stating the vision, the mission, strategic objectives the 10 point program, the 15 point program and eventually summarised into four ideological principles of Patriotism, Pan-Africanism, Socio-economic Transformation and democracy.”
The induction training session was also attended by the Head of RDC Secretariat, Maj. Martha Asiimwe, Senior Presidential Advisor- Advisor-Research, Dr. Dan Ssekiboobo, the Commissioner in-charge of the Central Region, Hon. Mbagadi Nkayi, the Commissioner In-charge of the Eastern Region, Ms. Obedi Gertrude Collines, Commissioner in-charge of Kampala, Mr. Fred Bamwine, among other Office of the President officials.