Only one in four citizens say elected local officials listen to what ordinary people have to say.
Key findings
- More than four in 10 Ugandans (43%) say they would turn to an elected local councillor for help with a problem related to government services in their community.
- Smaller minorities would approach a local government official (29%), a parliamentarian (14%), or a traditional leader (5%).
- In 2022, fewer than half of citizens said they were satisfied with their district or city council's work in ensuring that local markets are clean and well managed (45%), that education is provided at all school levels (45%), that roads are built and maintained (42%), that health centres are staffed and stocked with medical supplies (41%), and that land-use management and planning are adequate (35%).
- Large majorities said they had little or no confidence that their local council could eliminate corruption in its jurisdiction (79%), inform the public about how the council spends money (77%), ensure citizen participation in council planning and budgeting processes (72%), and improve trade in the area (65%).
- In 2017, Afrobarometer asked respondents who they think is responsible for ensuring that district or city councillors perform their jobs. Six in 10 (60%) pointed to the electorate, while fewer than one-quarter (22%) said the county assembly should hold local councillors accountable.
- In 2022, about one in four citizens (26%) said they contacted their district or city councillor during the year prior to the survey, down 14 percentage points from 2019.
- Only one-fourth (25%) of respondents say members of their district or city council "often" or "always" listen to the electorate.
- More than half (57%) of Ugandans say they trust their local councillors "somewhat" or "a lot," a rise of 10 percentage points over 2024.
- A substantial minority (44%) of citizens say "most" or "all" district or city councillors are involved in corruption, while another 42% say "some of them" are corrupt.
- A clear majority (56%) of Ugandans say their district or city councils are doing a good job, though 40% disapprove of their performance.
- Local-council approval levels have remained fairly constant over the past 10 years but vary across regions, ranging from 42% in Kampala to 63% in Northern Uganda.
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Local governments are often better able than central governments to deliver services and address citizens' demands. Many African governments have developed local governance institutions based on the assumption that development challenges are most efficiently addressed at the local level. However, the ability of subnational governments to meet their constituents' needs are conditional upon those institutions' powers, resources, and level of autonomy (Desai, 2023; Local Public Sector Alliance, 2024).
Uganda's decentralised structure of local governance was introduced by the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) in 1992. Headed by an elected chairperson, district councils (in rural areas) and city councils (in urban areas) oversee four lower levels of administrative units, hence their designation as Local Council Level 5. Scholars have long regarded the system's highly devolved nature as exceptional on the African continent: In Galukande-Kiganda's (2024) words, these "elected local councils have supreme political, executive and legislative powers over their areas of jurisdiction."
District and city councils possess the powers to pass legislation and levy and collect various taxes (Citizen Report, 2022). A district councillor has four key roles: formulating legislation, liaising with constituents, acting as an intermediary between the council and lower levels of local government, and monitoring service delivery (Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment, n.d.). The mandates of district/council leaders span citizen representation, community development, conflict resolution, environmental protection, and the necessary planning and budgeting to achieve these goals (United Nations Development Programme, 2023).
According to a report by the Inspectorate of Government (2024), corruption is rife in local-level public-sector recruitment: Between 2018 and 2022, bribes totalling UGX78 billion were demanded from job applicants, of which UGX29 billion was paid.
Local-government elections were held in early February 2026. What can newly elected leaders learn from public-opinion data? This dispatch, based on Afrobarometer surveys conducted in 2022, 2024, and 2025, focuses on citizen views of and attitudes toward elected local councillors.
Findings show that when faced with a community problem related to government services, Ugandans are most likely to seek help from local sources: More than four in 10 say they would turn to an elected local councillor, while three in 10 would approach a local government official.
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Fewer than half of citizens are satisfied with district- or city-council efforts to keep markets clean, provide education, construct and maintain roads, equip health centres, and plan and manage land use. And large majorities lack confidence in their district or city council to eliminate corruption in its jurisdiction, inform the public about council expenditures, involve citizens in planning and budgeting processes, and improve trade in the area.
About one-fourth of citizens report having contact with their local councillor during the previous year. A similar proportion say members of district or city councils "often" or "always" listen to ordinary people.
Majorities of citizens approve of their local councillor's performance and say they trust their district or city council, even though most believe that at least "some" councillors are corrupt.
Janet Aciro Janet Aciro is a student at Ndejje University in Uganda.
Stevenson Ssevume Male Stevenson Ssevume Male is an associate researcher with Hatchile Consult Ltd. in Kampala, Uganda.
