Barely two months after President Museveni unveiled his 2026-2031 Cabinet with a strong warning against corruption and poor service delivery, several ministers have already embarked on countrywide inspections that have resulted in arrests, investigations and stern warnings to public officials.
The early actions appear to reflect Mr Museveni’s ‘Kisanja Hakuna Kusinzira’ (Term of No Sleeping) pledge, made during his swearing-in for a seventh elective term, signalling that ministers are expected to spend less time behind office desks and more time monitoring government programmes on the ground.
Some of the most visible interventions have come from ministries that, until recently, rarely made headlines over field enforcement. The inspections have exposed alleged misuse of public funds, shoddy infrastructure projects, inflated school enrolment figures, and delayed government contracts.
Whether the momentum will be sustained remains to be seen. Still, the first weeks of the new Cabinet have already sent a strong message to accounting officers and contractors that routine supervision may no longer be enough.
Bulambuli inspections
Local Government Minister Balaam Barugahara recently led one of the most dramatic anti-corruption operations during an inspection tour of Bulambuli District. The visit culminated in the arrest of the district engineer, Mr Paul Walimbwa, after he allegedly failed to satisfactorily account for about Shs3 billion allocated to rural road maintenance over the last five financial years. Mr Walimbwa had presented what officials described as proper documentation before leading the minister and his team to inspect several roads, including the Tunyi-Busoga road in Sisi Sub-county. According to Mr Walimbwa, about Shs140 million had been spent on rehabilitation works along the road.
However, the visibly deteriorated condition of the road shocked the inspection team. The situation worsened after local leaders and boda boda riders disputed the engineer’s claims, telling the minister that little or no meaningful work had been carried out despite the reported expenditure. The inspection came at a time when government has allocated Shs1 billion under the current financial year’s road maintenance grant to districts for rehabilitation of community roads.
Nationally, the programme targets rehabilitation of about 11,000 kilometres of district and community access roads, in addition to 2,460 kilometres of city and municipal roads. Following the inspection, Mr Barugahara announced the launch of an anti-corruption campaign code-named ‘Expose the Corrupt.’ The operation also led to the arrest of Bulambuli Town Council Town Clerk Joseph Magona and the town engineer, identified as Mr Okiror, over alleged shoddy work on the Muyembe-Bukhalu Bridge, a project valued at more than Shs500 million.
Schools and health centres
Mr Barugahara’s Bulambuli tour also exposed alleged irregularities in the education sector. At Naiku Primary School, the minister ordered the arrest of the head teacher after a physical headcount established that the school had only 705 learners, despite official records indicating an enrolment of 1,352 pupils.
Officials suspect the enrolment figures had been inflated to attract higher government capitation grants.
The minister also questioned expenditure on the construction of a pit latrine at Muyembe Health Centre IV after learning that Shs73 million had reportedly been spent on what inspectors described as an unfinished and substandard structure. The discoveries have reinforced government concerns that leakage of public funds often begins at the implementation level, where weak supervision and collusion between officials undermine service delivery.
Delivering the NRM manifesto The inspections are taking place as government begins implementing the National Resistance Movement (NRM) manifesto for the 2026-2031 term under the theme ‘Protecting the Gains as We Make a Qualitative Leap into a High Middle Income Status.’ The manifesto prioritises infrastructure expansion, wealth creation through programmes such as the Parish Development Model, Operation Wealth Creation and Emyooga, job creation through industrialisation and commercial agriculture, market expansion, improved public services, and preservation of national unity and political stability.
These priorities are aligned with government’s Tenfold Growth Strategy, launched in 2023, which seeks to increase Uganda’s Gross Domestic Product from about $50 billion to $500 billion by 2040. The strategy places particular emphasis on four sectors-Agro-industrialisation, Tourism, Mineral Development, and Science, Technology and Innovation-popularly referred to as ATMS. Implementation is expected to be driven through the Fourth National Development Plan (NDP IV), which covers the period between FY2025/26 and FY2029/30, as well as the Shs84 trillion national budget for the current financial year. Government believes stronger supervision of projects will help ensure public resources translate into visible development outcomes.
Pressure on contractors
Away from the Local Government ministry, Works and Transport Minister Fred Byamukama has also intensified monitoring of major infrastructure projects. The minister has inspected several ongoing road projects, including the Mubende-Kyenjojo Road, Busega-Mpigi Expressway and sections of the Northern Bypass, expressing dissatisfaction with delayed works. He has repeatedly warned contractors that failure to meet agreed timelines could lead to termination of contracts. In June, Mr Byamukama gave Energo Project Company an eight-month ultimatum to complete the 86-kilometre Mityana-Mubende Road or risk losing the contract.
The road has remained under construction for about six years, with the contractor seeking an extension. The minister has also warned government officials against soliciting money from contractors, saying such practices contribute to delayed project implementation and increased construction costs. Separately, the Ministry of Works and Transport suspended two engineers over allegations related to the Busega-Mpigi Expressway project. According to a statement issued by the Inspector General of Government on July 14, the suspended officials are Mr Edwin Raymond Kiyaga and Mr Dickens Ahimbisibwe.
Their suspension followed a directive by Inspector General of Government Justice Naluzze Aisha Batala pending investigations into alleged embezzlement of funds earmarked for construction of the 23-kilometre expressway and its 20 kilometres of access roads. The health sector has not been spared. Health Minister Dr Chris Baryomunsi ordered investigations into the operations of Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital after making an unannounced visit to the facility on July 11. During the inspection, the minister cited congestion in hospital wards, complaints about poor service delivery and allegations of corruption involving some health workers. The ministry said follow-up investigations would establish the causes of the reported challenges and recommend corrective measures.
Museveni’s benchmark
President Museveni has consistently argued that the central mission of the NRM government is socio-economic transformation. Addressing ministers shortly after they assumed office, the President reminded them that leadership should be judged by improvements in household incomes and service delivery. ‘Our mission is to move every household into the money economy through commercial agriculture, manufacturing, services and ICT. Leaders must guide the people towards wealth creation, value addition and prosperity. We must build a middle class and a skilled working class. That is the benchmark by which leadership should be judged,’ Mr Museveni said. The flurry of inspections, arrests and investigations across different ministries suggests the new Cabinet has begun its term with a more hands-on approach to supervision.