Balaam Blames Graft and 'Untouchable' Staff for Paralysing Local Government Services

Local Government Minister Balaam Barugahara has warned that corruption, alleged interference in recruitment and officials shielding themselves from accountability are undermining service delivery across districts.

The Minister for Local Government, Balaam Barugahara, has told Parliament that corruption has paralysed service delivery in local governments, with bribery allegedly entrenched in several district departments.

Appearing before the Parliamentary Committee on Public Accounts for Local Governments on Tuesday, Barugahara said some local government officials have become a major obstacle to government programmes and deliberately frustrate efforts to improve service delivery.

He asked MPs to support the Ministry in taking action against officials accused of corruption and other forms of misconduct.

The Ministry team, led by Barugahara and his deputy, Justine Nameere, appeared before the committee chaired by Mukono Municipality MP Betty Nambooze to explain measures being taken to address corruption and financial mismanagement in local governments.

One of the issues raised by the committee was why the Ministry was not relying sufficiently on anti-corruption agencies and why reports on financial mismanagement in local governments are sometimes submitted to Parliament late.

In response, Barugahara said some institutions mandated to fight corruption have also been weakened, while courts have released some suspects arrested on corruption-related charges.

“Some of the government agencies fighting corruption have also been incapacitated. Even courts have started releasing people arrested for corruption,” Barugahara told the committee.

He said corruption in local governments had worsened, with some civil servants behaving as though they were beyond accountability.

“Corruption in local governments has gone out of hand and some government workers have become untouchable,” he said.

Barugahara asked MPs to support his efforts to crack down on corrupt officials, saying his actions were not driven by personal vendettas.

“I need your support to fight these corrupt government workers. I have no one I am targeting. My interest is to streamline service delivery for Ugandans,” he said.

The Minister also addressed concerns over the performance of some districts, saying several local governments that were previously ranked among the best performers are now struggling.

He attributed part of the decline to alleged manipulation of the recruitment and appointment of Chief Administrative Officers (CAOs).

“Some districts that were being ranked as best performers are now doing badly because CAOs were buying those positions. If you look at the situation in those districts now, you will understand,” he said.

Barugahara also accused District Service Commissions of commercialising recruitment, alleging that jobs are being sold rather than awarded on merit.

“District Service Commissions have commercialized recruitment. Jobs are being sold instead of being given to qualified people,” he said.

The Minister and MPs also discussed the case of seven CAOs whose transfers have reportedly been blocked by the Permanent Secretary, raising questions over the authority responsible for resolving the impasse.

Barugahara issued fresh directives on how the Ministry would handle the matter.

Most members of the committee welcomed the commitment by Barugahara and Nameere to reform the local government sector and strengthen accountability in district administration.