Yesterday, Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Robinah Nabbanja, together with ministers, a section of NRM leaders from the Secretariat, and area members of parliament, visited and met the local leaders to discuss the state of affairs in the districts of Mpigi, Butambala, and Gomba, which make up the greater Mpigi area.
The categories of leaders included the Chief Administrative Officers (CAO), district chairpersons, district engineers, and youth and women's leaders, among others.
During the meeting, Rt.Hon.Nabbanja and other senior leaders remarked that the government had resolved to intensify monitoring and follow-up of the huge sums of money which are annually sent to districts for service delivery, yet little is usually realized.
"It was discovered that government sent a lot of money to these districts for road construction for example but very few roads with low standards have been constructed," Nabbanja remarked, noting that that is as a result of employing civil servants that luck patriotism.
She cautioned the leaders and civil servants against over-politicking at the expense of the locals' plight. The prime minister said the government is determined to fight corruption and misuse of its resources to ensure the electorate benefits.
Hon. Godfrey Kiwanda, the NRM Vice Chairman for the Central Region, said his party performed poorly in the general election due to a lack of information by locals on government achievements.
The ruling NRM party deputy Secretary General, Rt.Hon.Namayanja Rose Nsereko, said, "It is not the president or ministers' only mandate to fulfill campaign pledges. Instead, it is the responsibility of local leadership and locals to remain inquisitive if the manifesto is to be fully implemented."
Namayanja added that the exercise is part of the move for the party to engage in early mobilization through rectifying what might have gone wrong but mostly ensuring effective service delivery to the electorate.
She thus tasked the party district leaders with following up on the presidential pledges to ensure that they are fulfilled. She also asked the leaders to monitor government programs right from the grassroots and also explain to the electorate about the ongoing development programs like the Parish Development Model.