Rwampara District leaders have come under intense scrutiny over service delivery gaps, substandard infrastructure, and what critics call "impactless reporting" despite receiving Shs27 billion in the 2023/2024 financial year.
The concerns emerged during a community accountability baraza on how public resources were utilized.
According to Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Willy Bataringaya, the district had projected a Shs29 billion budget but received Shs27 billion—Shs17 billion of which went to salaries and Shs 10 billion to development activities.
Bataringaya said the district expects a similar Shs29 billion budget in the 2025/2026 financial year to address road maintenance, staff recruitment, and other administrative functions.
But Resident District Commissioner (RDC) Harriet Nakamya expressed deep dissatisfaction with the district’s performance.
"They don’t consider the impact. There is no impact on the ground,” she said, accusing the technical team of producing glowing reports without results.
“The technical officers are good at writing reports, but they don't tally with what is on the ground. It’s better to have fewer projects with real impact than many that achieve nothing.”
Nakamya singled out the shoddy upgrade of Kibale Health Centre II to Health Centre III.
“There was poor workmanship, and I ordered the work to be redone,” she said, further criticizing inefficiencies in the education sector.
“When budgeting, they identify many challenges in schools but never fully address them.”
Bataringaya shared a breakdown of how the Shs 10 billion for development was spent:
- Shs4.8 billion on health
- Shs11.92 billion on education
- Shs971 million on production
- Shs1.21 billion on works
- Shs 216 million on natural resources
- Shs113 million on community-based services
- Shs148 million on planning
- Shs23 million on audit
- Shs42 million on trade
- Shs4.038 billion on administration
However, many of these allocations have failed to translate into visible improvement.
Residents raised concern over persistent issues like poor roads, unreliable electricity, and inequitable disbursement of government programs such as the Parish Development Model (PDM).
“We got electricity in Katereza Ward and the wiring was done, but we still don’t have power,” said Michael Nuwamanya.
From Kibale, Patrick Rukondo pointed out the appalling condition of the 21-kilometre Nyamukana–Kibale road, a critical link for transporting coffee from the region.
“Over 2,000 bags of coffee come from this area, but the road is nearly impassable. Pregnant mothers also risk their lives traveling to hospitals,” he said.
Other residents complained about inconsistent PDM funding. “Some people received Shs 800,000 while others got Shs 1 million. Why the disparity?” one asked.
Councilor Albert Atungire went further, accusing district officials of embezzling road funds.
“The road through Katereza is in terrible shape. With all due respect to our leaders, the money was embezzled—including by the engineer. Facts are there,” he said.
“There’s always political hullabaloo when it comes to accountability, especially for the Kinoni–Katereza road. Funds were released, but the road was never worked on.”
A visit to the Katereza road confirmed the complaints. The stretch is nearly impassable, strewn with stones and riddled with gullies, especially dangerous along its steep hills. Erosion has made travel risky for both motorists and pedestrians.
Established in 2019, Rwampara District comprises four sub-counties, four town councils, 29 parishes and wards, and 231 villages.
With a population of 162,967 people (84,812 males and 78,155 females), the district hosts 74 primary schools, seven secondary schools, and three tertiary institutions.
Every parish has a government-aided school, but two sub-counties still lack a Health Centre III and rely on Health Centre IVs for critical care.
Despite these structures, challenges persist. The district remains understaffed—especially in the health sector—faces limited local revenue, and lacks a unified revenue collection strategy.
Newly created town councils also suffer from a lack of operational grants, further stretching already thin resources.
Kinoni Town Council, for instance, collected just Shs 82 million in local revenue last financial year, highlighting the urgent need for better systems.
Still, CAO Bataringaya expressed hope for improvement through increased staff recruitment and better use of national programs like PDM.
“Groups from the first PDM phase are now repaying loans. This will boost the revolving fund and allow more beneficiaries to access financing,” he said.
As the 2025/2026 budget approaches, the pressure is on Rwampara’s leaders to shift from paperwork to performance—and deliver real change that residents can feel on the ground.