Minister for the Presidency Milly Babirye Babalanda has challenged Operation Wealth Creation (OWC) officers to measure their performance by improvements in household incomes and enterprise productivity rather than the number of agricultural inputs distributed to beneficiaries.
Babalanda made the call on Wednesday at the National Leadership Institute (NALI) in Kyankwanzi, where about 250 senior military and civilian OWC officers are attending a week-long capacity-building retreat.
She said the officers’ work should contribute directly to the Governance and Security Programme (GSP) and the government’s Tenfold Growth Strategy, which aims to expand Uganda’s economy to $500 billion by 2040 under the Fourth National Development Plan (NDP IV).
The strategy prioritises agro-industrialisation, tourism, minerals, including oil and gas, and science, technology and innovation.
Babalanda said security, accountability and efficient public institutions were essential to achieving the country’s economic ambitions, warning that insecurity discourages investment, corruption diverts public resources and inefficient institutions delay service delivery.
“Insecurity discourages investment, corruption diverts resources, and inefficient institutions delay service delivery,” she said, adding that peace, justice and accountability underpin investment and production.
The Governance and Security Programme brings together the Office of the President, ministries responsible for defence, internal affairs, justice and foreign affairs, the Judiciary, Police, Prisons and intelligence agencies.
Although the institutions have different mandates, Babalanda said they must coordinate their efforts to address national challenges and deliver tangible results.
“Coordination must produce solutions, not merely meetings,” she said.
Turning to OWC, which was established in July 2013 to help Ugandans transition from subsistence farming to commercial agriculture, Babalanda said distributing seedlings and other agricultural inputs was only the starting point of wealth creation.
She said beneficiaries also needed technical guidance, access to markets, reliable information and supporting infrastructure to turn agricultural support into viable businesses.
The minister urged officers to prioritise productive enterprises, improved farming practices and value addition while ensuring that beneficiaries were selected fairly and public resources accounted for.
She also called for a shift in performance reporting, saying officers should demonstrate how government interventions had improved agricultural productivity and household incomes instead of merely reporting the quantities of inputs distributed.
“Monitoring must establish not only what Government has spent, but what expenditure has achieved,” she said, encouraging officers to adopt digital systems to track interventions and measure results.
Babalanda outlined five priorities for the officers: stronger coordination with district leaders and technical personnel, accountability in the use of public resources, evidence-based implementation, community engagement and integrity in public service.
“Public office is a responsibility, not a personal entitlement,” she said, invoking the government’s “Kisanja No Corruption, No Sleeping” theme.
She added that officers should remain focused on serving Ugandans, saying, “NRM is here to stay, we should serve Ugandans with purpose.”
Babalanda challenged the officers to reflect on three questions when they returned to their stations: what they could do differently to improve service delivery, which coordination gaps they could help close, and what measurable results citizens should expect from their work.
She commended NALI and the OWC Secretariat for organising the retreat before ending her engagement early because of other official commitments. She wished participants productive discussions during the remaining sessions.