Vice President Jessica Alupo has warned ministers spearheading the government's anti-corruption campaign against publicly humiliating local government officials during inspection exercises, saying accountability must not come at the expense of constitutional protections and fair legal processes.
Speaking on Wednesday during a national meeting of district chairpersons, district, city and municipal council speakers, mayors, service commission leaders, chief administrative officers and town clerks in Kampala, Alupo said the fight against corruption must remain firm but lawful.
The meeting was organised as part of President Museveni's Kisanja Hakuna Corruption campaign, which seeks to strengthen accountability and improve service delivery in local governments.
Alupo praised the Ministry of Local Government for increasing oversight of local authorities, saying recent inspection and monitoring activities had sent a strong warning against misuse of public resources.
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"Their inspections, follow-ups, oversight and decisive interventions have sent a strong and timely warning to all leaders that the era of laxity, impunity and misuse of public resources must end, and it must end now," she said.
However, she cautioned that political supervision should not replace institutions established under the Constitution to investigate and prosecute corruption cases.
The Vice President said ministers have a responsibility to provide political leadership, policy direction and sector oversight, while independent accountability bodies have the mandate to investigate wrongdoing, enforce laws and ensure due process.
"In working together, we must respect the boundaries of each institution so that our anti-corruption drive remains effective, lawful and credible," she said.
Alupo particularly warned against exposing officials to public ridicule before investigations are concluded, saying such actions risk violating their constitutional rights.
"The Constitution also requires that every person is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Therefore, we must avoid any practice that exposes individuals to public humiliation before a proper legal process has run its course," she said.
She said Uganda's determination to fight corruption should strengthen the country's commitment to justice rather than weaken it.
"Our resolve to fight corruption must never weaken our commitment to fairness, principles of justice and the rule of law," she said.
The Vice President described the meeting as an opportunity for political and technical leaders to develop practical recommendations that would be presented to President Museveni to strengthen service delivery and improve accountability.
Participants raised concerns including delayed release of funds, inadequate facilitation of local government staff, leadership conflicts and limited equipment needed to monitor government programmes effectively.
Alupo acknowledged concerns over remuneration raised by local government leaders but encouraged them to focus on building a stronger economy while using established government channels to present their recommendations.
"We are all here under one roof, and we can make recommendations, we can give our ideas and present them as part of the resolutions. They will be discussed and forwarded to the highest office," she said.
She described corruption as one of the biggest barriers to Uganda's socio-economic transformation, noting that local governments are especially important because they are the first point of contact between citizens and the state.
"For the ordinary Ugandan, government is first felt through local governments. When a health centre lacks medicines, when a borehole breaks down, when a school roof collapses, when a road becomes impassable, when a citizen is asked to pay a bribe for a public service, it is the local government that the citizen sees first and foremost," she said.
Alupo said the quality of governance at the local level directly influences citizens' confidence in government institutions.
While recognising government investments in infrastructure, education, healthcare, electricity, water, markets and wealth creation programmes such as the Parish Development Model and Emyooga, she said corruption continues to undermine the impact of these initiatives.
She urged local governments to embrace greater transparency by making budgets, procurement plans, contract awards, project schedules and performance reports available to the public.
According to Alupo, informed citizens become effective partners in monitoring government programmes and holding leaders accountable.
She also called for stronger supervision of government projects, saying many failures are caused not by lack of resources but by weak implementation and monitoring.
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"Projects do not fail only because resources are insufficient. Many fail because implementation is not closely monitored. Funds may be released, but work is not verified. Contracts may be awarded, but site inspections are not conducted. Defects may be identified, but corrective action is delayed. This must end," she said.
The Vice President further urged local governments to uphold merit-based recruitment, strengthen financial discipline and implement audit recommendations fully.
She reminded leaders that every shilling spent in public service belongs to taxpayers and must be properly accounted for.
Alupo challenged districts, cities and municipalities attending the meeting to return with practical measures to improve oversight, strengthen transparency, tighten financial controls and accelerate government programmes.
"Our people do not need promises. They need results and outcomes that they can see and feel," she said.
She warned that corruption continues to contribute to poor public services, environmental degradation and delays in national development.
