Leaders and residents in Lwengo District have commended the government for what they describe as major improvements in service delivery over the last five years, citing visible progress in infrastructure, healthcare, education and access to clean water.
Residents say the district, which for years struggled with poor services after being carved out of Masaka District in 2010, is now experiencing steady transformation due to increased government investment.
Lwengo District Chairperson Ibrahim Kitatta said the past five years have seen major interventions that have improved the lives of residents and restored confidence in public institutions.
Kitatta revealed that corruption and bribery in public service recruitment were among the biggest challenges facing the district when his administration took office.
“When we came into office, people believed that getting a job in Lwengo required paying money. Corruption had deeply affected public service recruitment,” Kitatta said.
“Although corruption cannot be eliminated instantly, we tightened supervision and restored hope among residents that one can secure a government job without paying bribes. We achieved this by strengthening accountability through public barazas where leaders directly engage citizens,” he added.
According to Kitatta, the reforms have also helped reduce exploitation in land offices, police operations and courts of law.
The district chairperson pointed to the continued construction of the district headquarters as one of the key milestones achieved under successive administrations. He noted that the project was initiated during the tenure of former district chairperson George Mutabaazi and has continued progressing under the current leadership.
On infrastructure, Kitatta praised government for increasing road maintenance funding, which he said has enabled the district to rehabilitate more roads annually.
“Previously, Lwengo could only work on about 300 kilometres of roads annually because road funds were limited. But we thank President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni for increasing road funding. We are now able to work on nearly 600 kilometres every year, including murram roads and improved drainage systems,” he said.
In the health sector, Kitatta said government support through the Ministry of Health has significantly improved services at Kyazanga Health Centre IV, reducing the need for residents to seek treatment in Masaka City.
“According to the reports we receive from the region, Kyazanga Hospital has greatly improved. The number of mothers delivering safely there has increased because we now have modern medical equipment and more qualified staff,” he noted.
He added that the facility now has scanning equipment, incubators, oxygen supplies, a modern ambulance and blood transfusion services.
“In the past, pregnant women who required surgery had to be referred to Masaka. Today, those services are available at Kyazanga. We have increased the number of midwives and nurses, and even doctors who used to reside in Masaka now stay within the district,” Kitatta explained.
The district has also upgraded some lower health facilities, including Kakoma Health Centre II, which was elevated to Health Centre III status.
Kitatta further acknowledged support from Dr Diana Atwine, who donated 130 hospital beds to health facilities in the district.
“All Health Centre IIIs were given 10 beds each and Health Centre IVs received 14 beds each,” he said.
In education, district leaders say government schools are registering better performance in national examinations due to improved infrastructure and staffing.
“The first challenge was infrastructure. Even if you deploy good teachers, children cannot perform well if they study in poor buildings,” Kitatta said.
He noted that government has constructed and renovated classroom blocks in several schools, including Kkoni Secondary School, Sseke Secondary School, Nakyenyi Secondary School, Ndaggwe Secondary School and Nakateete Secondary School.
On access to clean water, Kitatta acknowledged that although progress has been made, more investment is still needed, particularly in hard-to-reach rural communities.
Residents who spoke to Nile Post said government services in the district have improved considerably and expressed hope that support will continue in the new term.
“If the government continues supporting Lwengo in this new term, our district will become one of the leading districts in the greater Masaka region,” some residents said.
As he prepares to leave office, Kitatta urged incoming district leaders to continue lobbying for more government projects to sustain the district’s development momentum.