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BUSOGA – The Minister for the Presidency and Member of Parliament for Budiope West Constituency, Hon. Babirye Milly Babalanda, has cautioned political, administrative and technical leaders in the Busoga sub-region against corruption, political interference, favouritism and diversion of public resources during the implementation of the Northern Uganda Social Action Fund Phase IV (NUSAF IV).
The Minister issued the warning yesterday at Jinja Nile Resort while addressing Resident District/City Commissioners (RDCs/RCCs), their deputies, District Chairpersons, Mayors, Chief Administrative Officers, Town Clerks, district technical officers, local government councillors and other stakeholders during an engagement to prepare local leaders for the programme's rollout in Busoga.
Hon. Babalanda commended the Office of the Prime Minister and the World Bank for their partnership in advancing NUSAF IV, noting that similar engagements had already been conducted in the Acholi, Elgon, Lango, Karamoja and Bukedi sub-regions.
She emphasised that the programme's success should not be measured by the amount of money disbursed but by the number of households whose livelihoods are genuinely transformed.
“As a daughter of Busoga and Minister for the Presidency, I have a particular responsibility to ensure that this programme succeeds. I understand the aspirations of our people, the challenges facing our communities and the enormous potential that remains untapped,” she said.
The Minister observed that despite Busoga's fertile soils, abundant water resources, hardworking population and considerable agricultural potential, poverty, youth unemployment and food insecurity remain significant challenges.
She noted that approximately 840,700 people in the sub-region account for about 12 per cent of Uganda's poor population, underscoring the need for effective interventions that translate government resources into tangible improvements in people's lives.
Hon. Babalanda explained that NUSAF IV presents an opportunity to address these challenges through enterprise grants supporting agriculture, fisheries and small businesses, as well as labour-intensive public works that provide income while improving community infrastructure.
Strengthening leadership, monitoring and accountability
As the Minister responsible for supervising Resident District Commissioners, Hon. Babalanda underscored their central role in safeguarding the programme through effective monitoring, coordination and accountability.
She directed RDCs to regularly visit project sites and beneficiary communities, ensure transparent and fair beneficiary selection, investigate suspected fraud and misuse of funds, coordinate stakeholders and ensure that complaints are documented and addressed.
She cautioned them against becoming passive observers or ceremonial visitors, emphasising the need for a visible field presence to establish whether government interventions are reaching their intended beneficiaries.
She also called for coordination and respect for institutional mandates, warning that oversight should not result in duplication of responsibilities or interference with the mandates of the Office of the Prime Minister, local governments and programme implementation structures.
Addressing elected leaders, including District Chairpersons and councillors, the Minister urged them to mobilise communities, explain programme objectives and encourage public participation while protecting the initiative from political manipulation.
She stressed that NUSAF IV is a government programme intended to benefit eligible Ugandans, irrespective of their political affiliations, and must never be used as a political reward for supporters or a punishment for opponents.
“No leader should demand that beneficiaries belong to a particular political group, pay a fee, offer a kickback or surrender part of their grant,” she cautioned.
She further tasked Chief Administrative Officers, Town Clerks and district technical officers with ensuring that implementation adheres to approved procedures, budgets, safeguards and reporting requirements. Their responsibilities include proper beneficiary verification, accurate documentation of grants and payments, expenditure supervision, risk identification and facilitating audits and independent verification.
Complementing government poverty eradication programmes
The Minister urged local leaders to ensure that NUSAF IV complements other government poverty eradication and economic empowerment interventions, including the Parish Development Model (PDM), Emyooga, the Generating Growth Opportunities and Productivity for Women Enterprises (GROW) project and the Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme (UWEP).
She observed that although the initiatives have different implementation approaches, they share complementary objectives of increasing household incomes, creating employment, strengthening production and reducing poverty.
She called upon local governments to coordinate their implementation to prevent duplication and double financing while creating opportunities for beneficiaries to access complementary support, agricultural extension services, savings groups and markets.
On accountability, Hon. Babalanda warned against elite capture, describing it as the manipulation of programme processes by influential individuals seeking to benefit themselves, their relatives, associates or political networks at the expense of vulnerable households.
She called for strict adherence to approved beneficiary selection criteria, community verification of beneficiary lists and the use of authorised payment channels.
She also urged public officials to declare and manage conflicts of interest, warning against using public office to obtain personal benefits from programme resources.
On grievance redress, the Minister emphasised the need for safe and accessible mechanisms through which communities can report irregularities involving beneficiary selection, delayed payments, suspected fraud, exclusion and misconduct.
She said all complaints should be documented, acknowledged, handled confidentially where necessary and referred to the appropriate authorities for resolution.
Measuring results beyond financial expenditure
Hon. Babalanda called for evidence-based monitoring that goes beyond financial reporting to establish whether NUSAF IV is delivering its intended outcomes.
She outlined four key areas for assessing the programme's impact: inclusion, to establish whether vulnerable households are identified and supported; integrity, to ensure resources reach beneficiaries and are used for their intended purposes; delivery, to assess the quality and progress of enterprises and public works; and impact, to determine whether household incomes, food security, employment and resilience are improving.
In her concluding remarks, she appealed to Busoga leaders to demonstrate discipline, integrity and genuine commitment to public service, placing community interests above personal and political considerations.
She urged RDCs to remain vigilant, visible and impartial in their oversight, political leaders to mobilise communities and protect fairness, technical and administrative officers to uphold professional standards, and citizens to participate actively, demand transparency and report wrongdoing through established channels.
“Let us ensure that NUSAF IV becomes a programme remembered not for the money it spent, but for the families it lifted, the enterprises it strengthened, the jobs it created and the dignity it restored,” she said.
She reiterated that all stakeholders must work together to eliminate resource diversion, discrimination and corruption while ensuring that no eligible household is left behind through negligence or abuse.
Government launches NUSAF IV in Busoga
In a separate message delivered by Minister Babalanda, the Minister of State for Northern Uganda, Hon. Beatrice Akello Akori, described the rollout of NUSAF IV in Busoga as a historic milestone, marking the first time the sub-region has benefited from the programme since its inception in 2003.
She noted that the initiative creates new opportunities for poor and vulnerable households to improve their livelihoods, build resilience and participate in economic activities.
NUSAF IV is a Government of Uganda programme implemented through 104 beneficiary local governments, with support from the Office of the Prime Minister and other government institutions. The World Bank is financing the programme to the tune of US$276 million, comprising a US$250 million credit, and implementation will run until December 2031.
The programme focuses on three key areas: sustainable livelihoods; resilience and human capital development; and strengthening social protection delivery systems.
Under the initiative, poor rural households will receive grants of up to approximately Shs1 million, alongside business skills training, mentorship and market linkages. Young people and women in urban areas will also benefit from entrepreneurship training and business grants.
Other interventions include climate-smart public works, nutrition support for mothers and young children, and direct assistance to extremely poor households unable to participate in public works.
Hon. Akello highlighted Busoga's significant development needs, noting that approximately 840,700 people live below the poverty line, making the sub-region the second-highest among the nine NUSAF IV beneficiary sub-regions.
She further observed that Busoga, with a population exceeding 4.3 million across 15 local governments, is the most populous sub-region under the programme.
She revealed that approximately 6,200 mothers with young children in Buyende, Mayuge and Namutumba districts will receive nutrition support and counselling to address anaemia and stunting.
In Jinja City and the municipalities of Bugiri, Iganga and Kamuli, young people and women engaged in the informal economy will benefit from entrepreneurship training and business grants.
The Minister also emphasised the importance of establishing the National Social Registry to provide reliable household data for identifying and selecting beneficiaries of government social protection programmes.
She urged communities to register for National Identity Cards and provide accurate information during household registration exercises to facilitate fair and transparent beneficiary selection.
On accountability, Hon. Akello cautioned programme implementers against corruption, favouritism and exploitation of beneficiaries, stressing that no individual should pay money to access NUSAF IV benefits.
She noted that the Inspectorate of Government would actively participate in monitoring implementation through Community Monitoring Volunteers, community scorecards, interface meetings and investigations into complaints.
Beneficiaries will also have access to grievance reporting channels, including SMS, USSD, WhatsApp, toll-free telephone lines and a web portal, while payments will be made through verified bank accounts and mobile money platforms.
She called upon local government leaders, RDCs, security officers and project desk officers to safeguard programme resources, mobilise communities and ensure fair beneficiary selection.
Hon. Akello pledged to personally monitor implementation, conduct unannounced visits to project sites and hold responsible officials accountable for delivering the programme's intended results.
The collective commitment of government leaders, implementers and communities, she emphasised, will be critical to ensuring that NUSAF IV achieves its objectives of reducing poverty, strengthening household resilience and accelerating socioeconomic transformation in Busoga.
