PS Ministry of Local Gov't Kumumanya Urges Leaders to Build Self-Sustaining and Financially Independent Councils

MASAKA CITY, UGANDA — September 28, 2026 — The Ministry of Local Government (MOLG) has challenged local political and technical leaders to build financially independent and resilient local governments that can transform communities.

Permanent Secretary Ben Kumumanya delivered this message through Onesmus Mulondo. Mulondo serves as the Finance Programme Management Specialist for Local Government Public Finance Management reforms. He spoke during a regional training workshop at Hotel Brovad in Masaka City.

Moving Away From Dependency

Kumumanya stated that fiscal decentralization was never meant to create permanent reliance on the central government. Instead, it empowers districts to drive local economic development using home-grown resources.

“With the growing public demands for better roads, clean water, education, and improved health care, we must generate our own resources to meet these expectations,” Kumumanya noted.

Digitalization and Data-Driven Collection

To stop revenue leakages from physical cash collections, the Ministry directed finance managers to adopt complete digitalization. Kumumanya warned against overtaxing small businesses. He urged leaders to diversify revenue streams by:

• Mapping property valuations

• Exploring local tourism potential

• Formalizing public markets

• Leveraging public-private partnerships (PPPs) to build commercial assets

Revenue collection must rely on comprehensive taxpayer registration and regular updates to revenue registers.

Strict Performance Accountability

Kumumanya issued a stern warning that the renewal of technical officers' performance contracts will depend directly on meeting local revenue targets.

“We will no longer tolerate passive leaders that watch local revenue decline while blaming the centre for budget cuts,” Kumumanya said. He added that building public trust requires clear accountability and visible service delivery.

Workshop and Next Steps

The five-day training workshop is facilitated by revenue consultant Patrick Kandole. It supports the implementation of the Local Government Revenue Mobilisation Strategy (LG-RMS).

Participants will create local revenue profiles, annual targets, and realistic projections. Following Masaka City, similar regional training workshops will take place in Lira, Moroto, Mbale, and Mbarara.