Somewhere between a ghost SACCO that swallowed a poor farmer’s hope and the billions invested in programmes intended to lift ordinary Ugandans out of poverty, we barely flinched. Yet let the conversation turn to politics and the nation erupts. We have become highly alert to politics, but far less attentive to economics. One reason I find the recent hands-on inspections by the new Minister of Local Government, Hon. Balaam Barugahara, and his colleagues encouraging is that they take oversight beyond offices and into communities, following public resources to where they are meant to make a difference. But inspections alone are not enough.
Every such visit should leave behind something more enduring: informed citizens, call them socio-economic activists or economic vigilantes, who continue asking questions long after the official convoy has departed. Until that happens, we risk remaining a country that reacts more passionately to political events than to the effective use of public resources. Perhaps that is our national blind spot. We have become more interested in who holds public office than in what is achieved with the authority and resources entrusted to that office. To be clear, this is not an argument against political activism. Every democracy needs citizens who defend constitutionalism, uphold rights and hold leaders accountable.
The point is that our civic energy seems to become unbalanced at every other turn; highly activated while following politics, but less consistent at following public expenditure and development outcomes. The evidence is all around us. Billions of shillings are allocated annually to roads, yet some urban roads deteriorate. The Parish Development Model has channeled unprecedented resources into communities, yet audit reports highlight ghost SACCOs, duplicated beneficiaries and weaknesses in accountability. The question is no longer whether government has development programmes. It is whether citizens are tracking those programmes until the promised benefits reach the intended people.
That is why Uganda needs a stronger movement of socio-economic activists. Not louder voices, but sharper eyes. Citizens who can translate an Auditor General’s report into language that makes sense in a village baraza meeting. Citizens who understand that the national budget is not merely a government document but a blueprint for whether schools receive textbooks, health centres receive medicines, farmers access markets and businesses flourish. We need more institutions and initiatives, such as the Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group (CSBAG), that help citizens engage meaningfully with public finance and accountability. Imagine if every radio station dedicated one programme each week to tracking public expenditure instead of focusing almost exclusively on political contests.
Imagine if every university adopted a public project and independently monitored its progress. Imagine if every parish displayed, on a public noticeboard, how much money had been released for roads, health, education and the Parish Development Model. Imagine if every citizen routinely asked four simple questions whenever a project was commissioned: How much was released? Who received it? What has been delivered? Where is the evidence? Public accountability would become much stronger. Uganda needs greater civic attention to the economy. We have many commentators analysing political events. We also need more citizens examining procurement, implementation, value for money and service delivery. From my own experience, I will tell you, elections determine who governs, but budgets determine how people live.
They influence whether citizens can work, trade, learn, invest and prosper. My argument, therefore, is simple. Uganda needs many more socio-economic activists. Men and women who appreciate that protecting the taxpayer is a patriotic duty; that monitoring public expenditure is a civic responsibility; and that safeguarding public resources ultimately protects opportunity, development and the future of every Ugandan. Uganda has produced no shortage of political mobilisers.
The next generation we need are economic or development mobilisers; citizens who turn up at procurement meetings, district budget conferences and project inspections not to sign for transport refunds or per diems, but to demand answers. How much was released? Who received it? What was delivered? Where is the evidence? If those four questions became routine in every parish, corruption would become a far riskier enterprise, accountability would become a national habit, and our journey towards a US$500 billion economy would move from aspiration to reality a lot faster.