The meeting brought together Chief Administrative Officers, Resident District Commissioners, chairpersons of district service commissions, district chairpersons, and city and municipal mayors to explore ways of improving efficiency, strengthening governance and controlling public expenditure.
Among the key concerns raised were corruption through bribery and extortion, recruitment of unqualified staff, deployment of officers outside approved staffing structures, and payroll irregularities, including underpayments, overpayments, placement of staff on incorrect payrolls and continued payment of lunch allowances to officers whose salaries had already been enhanced.
Officials from the Ministry of Public Service said the challenges continue to affect service delivery across local governments, adding that government remains committed to promoting good governance, improving employee motivation and ensuring prudent management of public resources.
District leaders also highlighted chronic understaffing, saying many local governments are operating with only about half of their approved workforce.
District chairpersons further complained that they were excluded from the recent government salary enhancement, arguing that the increment overlooked elected local leaders.
Mayuge District Chairperson David Zijja criticised delays in processing recruitment submissions and enrolling newly recruited staff onto the government payroll.
"First clean your house before you clean ours because we submit names to the ministry, but even putting them on the payroll takes years. Do you expect a person earning Shs1.5 million to supervise a person earning Shs6 million?" Zijja asked.
Iganga District Chairperson Shabiru Muhando Isabirye accused his district's Chief Administrative Officer, Moses Sseguya Bukenya, of frustrating service delivery and appealed to the minister to transfer him immediately.
"I request that from here the Permanent Secretary for Local Government goes with that CAO. If not, I will close his office," Isabirye said.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Public Service Catherine Bitarakwate said recruitment bottlenecks remain one of the biggest obstacles to effective service delivery and urged local leaders to play a more active role in resolving them.
She also criticised the practice of returning unspent funds to the central treasury, saying stronger supervision was needed to ensure government resources are fully utilised.
Gen. Katumba Wamala said government is committed to addressing the long-standing challenges affecting public service delivery, noting that citizens expect tangible improvements rather than promises.
He said government had made progress on salary enhancement and would continue implementing measures to improve the welfare of public servants.
The minister also called for decisive action against corruption, saying the vice should be confronted through enforcement rather than public pronouncements alone.
He further questioned why district service commissions remain non-functional in some local governments, leaving many officers serving in acting capacities for prolonged periods, and urged responsible authorities to expedite appointments to fill the gaps.