The Office of the President has rolled out a district-wide mobilisation campaign in Rubanda to strengthen accountability, promote citizen participation, and improve access to government information, in what officials say is part of efforts to consolidate the ruling NRM’s development agenda ahead of the 2026 elections.
Launched under the theme ‘Protecting the Gains for Quality Service Delivery,’ the campaign was flagged off on Tuesday by Maj. Martha Asiimwe, Head of the RDC Secretariat and the Anti-Corruption Unit, at Rubanda Town Council headquarters.
According to Rubanda Resident District Commissioner Eric Ssewandigi, the drive targets every administrative level – from villages to town councils – to ensure that citizens understand how government resources are managed and how they can benefit from them.
‘Government programmes are running smoothly across the district. The few challenges we encountered, especially during the implementation of the Parish Development Model, were rectified. Those who extorted money from beneficiaries were arrested and forced to return the funds,’ he said.
Ssewandigi warned against political sabotage ahead of the 2026 polls, stressing that beneficiaries of the Parish Development Model (PDM) and Emyooga will play a key role in mobilising support for President Museveni.
Presenting figures on the government’s investment, Rubanda District Chairperson Stephen Ampeire Kasyaba reported that Shs 13.3 billion had been disbursed under PDM to 69 SACCOs, benefiting 13,441 people. He said Shs 2.25 billion was released under Emyooga, of which Shs 1.1 billion has been recovered, while the Youth Livelihood Programme extended Shs 920 million to 1,583 beneficiaries.
‘The Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme provided Shs 614 million to 172 groups, benefiting 1,774 members, while Shs 115 million supported 422 Persons with Disabilities,’ Kasyaba said, urging residents not to ‘betray President Museveni’ given the government’s investment in the district.
Chief guest Maj. Asiimwe hailed Rubanda for giving the NRM over 98 percent support in the 2021 elections and revealed that the government had injected Shs 3.3 trillion into PDM nationwide, with each of the 10,594 parishes receiving Shs 100 million annually.
But she also issued stern warnings to local leaders and contractors. ‘Mishandling PDM, Emyooga, and UPE/USE funds will not be tolerated. Contractors who deliver shoddy work, absentee health workers, and thieves of medicines are enemies of progress,’ she said.
Asiimwe noted that Uganda’s tarmac road network had expanded from 1,900 kilometres in 1986 to over 6,850 kilometres today. She lauded Rubanda and the wider Kigezi region as peaceful and strategically positioned as a gateway to Rwanda, Burundi, and DR Congo.
Highlighting the district’s tourism potential, with attractions like Lake Bunyonyi and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park drawing more than 1,000 tourists annually, Asiimwe urged leaders to leverage opportunities in commercial agriculture, manufacturing, services, and ICT – the four pillars of wealth creation outlined by President Museveni.
‘Leadership is like medicine; you diagnose problems and prescribe solutions. The NRM is the medicine that has worked,’ she concluded.