JINJA – The Government of Uganda has extended its US$276 million Northern Uganda Social Action Fund Phase IV (NUSAF IV) programme to the Busoga sub-region for the first time, in a major intervention aimed at tackling household poverty, creating economic opportunities and improving the livelihoods of vulnerable communities.
However, as the programme gets underway, Minister for the Presidency and Budiope West Member of Parliament, Hon. Babirye Milly Babalanda, has warned local government leaders and programme implementers against corruption, political interference, favouritism and the mismanagement of public resources.
Hon. Babalanda said the success of the initiative would depend on transparency, accountability and the ability of leaders to ensure that the intended beneficiaries receive the support without discrimination or exploitation.
She made the remarks on Thursday at Jinja Nile Resort while addressing Resident District Commissioners (RDCs), Resident City Commissioners (RCCs), their deputies, district chairpersons, mayors, Chief Administrative Officers (CAOs), town clerks, technical officers, councillors and other stakeholders during an engagement to prepare local leaders for the programme’s implementation in Busoga.
The Minister, who described the programme as an important opportunity to address persistent poverty in the sub-region, said its success should not be measured by the amount of money disbursed but by the number of households whose livelihoods are genuinely transformed.
“As a daughter of Busoga and Minister for the Presidency, I have a particular responsibility to ensure that this programme succeeds. I understand the aspirations of our people, the challenges facing our communities and the enormous potential that remains untapped,” she said.
Hon. Babalanda commended the Office of the Prime Minister and the World Bank for their partnership in implementing NUSAF IV, noting that similar engagements with local leaders had already been conducted in the Acholi, Elgon, Lango, Karamoja and Bukedi sub-regions.
She observed that despite Busoga’s fertile soils, abundant water resources, hardworking population and considerable agricultural potential, poverty, youth unemployment and food insecurity remain major challenges.
According to the Minister, approximately 840,700 people in Busoga account for about 12 per cent of Uganda’s poor population, highlighting the need for interventions that translate government resources into tangible improvements in household welfare.
NUSAF IV is designed to address some of these challenges through enterprise grants targeting agriculture, fisheries and small businesses, as well as labour-intensive public works that provide income to vulnerable households while improving community infrastructure.
Safeguarding programme resources
With the programme expected to benefit thousands of households, Hon. Babalanda placed particular emphasis on the responsibility of local leaders to protect public resources and ensure that implementation follows established procedures.
As the Minister responsible for supervising RDCs, she directed them to take an active role in monitoring the programme through regular visits to project sites and beneficiary communities.
She said RDCs should oversee transparent beneficiary selection, follow up suspected cases of fraud and misuse of funds, coordinate stakeholders and ensure that complaints are properly documented and addressed.
The Minister cautioned them against becoming passive observers or limiting their involvement to ceremonial visits, emphasising that effective oversight requires a visible presence in communities to establish whether government interventions are reaching the intended beneficiaries.
She also called for coordination among implementing institutions, warning against unnecessary duplication or interference with the responsibilities of the Office of the Prime Minister, local governments and other programme structures.
Addressing elected political leaders, including district chairpersons and councillors, Hon. Babalanda urged them to mobilise communities, explain the programme’s objectives and encourage public participation without turning the initiative into a political instrument.
She stressed that NUSAF IV is a government programme intended for eligible Ugandans regardless of their political affiliation and should neither be used to reward political supporters nor punish those holding different political views.
“No leader should demand that beneficiaries belong to a particular political group, pay a fee, offer a kickback or surrender part of their grant,” she cautioned.
She further tasked CAOs, town clerks and district technical officers with ensuring that implementation complies with approved procedures, budgets, safeguards and reporting requirements.
This, she said, includes proper verification of beneficiaries, accurate documentation of grants and payments, expenditure supervision, timely identification of implementation risks and cooperation with audits and independent verification exercises.
Linking NUSAF IV to existing government programmes
Beyond ensuring proper implementation, the Minister urged local governments to coordinate NUSAF IV with other government poverty eradication and economic empowerment initiatives to maximise their impact.
She specifically cited the Parish Development Model (PDM), Emyooga, the Generating Growth Opportunities and Productivity for Women Enterprises (GROW) project and the Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme (UWEP).
Although the programmes have different implementation approaches, Hon. Babalanda said they share common objectives of increasing household incomes, creating employment, strengthening production and reducing poverty.
She encouraged local governments to identify areas of complementarity, avoid duplication and double financing, and connect beneficiaries to additional support, agricultural extension services, savings groups and markets.
The Minister also warned against elite capture, describing it as a situation where influential individuals manipulate programme processes to secure benefits for themselves, their relatives, associates or political networks at the expense of vulnerable households.
She called for strict adherence to approved beneficiary selection criteria, community verification of beneficiary lists and the use of authorised payment channels.
Public officials were equally urged to declare and manage conflicts of interest, with Hon. Babalanda warning against using public office to obtain personal benefits from programme resources.
On grievance management, she called for accessible and reliable mechanisms through which communities can report concerns relating to beneficiary selection, delayed payments, suspected fraud, exclusion and misconduct by officials.
She said complaints should be documented, acknowledged and handled confidentially where necessary before being referred to the appropriate authorities for action.
Measuring impact beyond financial expenditure
Hon. Babalanda further challenged local leaders to assess the programme’s performance beyond financial reports, saying accountability should also be measured by the actual changes experienced by beneficiary households.
She outlined four key areas that should guide monitoring: inclusion, to establish whether vulnerable households are identified and supported; integrity, to ensure funds reach beneficiaries and are used for their intended purposes; delivery, to assess whether enterprises and public works meet the required standards; and impact, to determine whether household incomes, food security, employment and resilience are improving.
In her concluding remarks, the Minister appealed to Busoga leaders to demonstrate discipline, integrity and genuine commitment to public service, placing community interests above personal and political considerations.
She urged RDCs to remain vigilant and impartial in their oversight, political leaders to mobilise communities and protect fairness, technical and administrative officers to uphold professional standards, and citizens to participate actively, demand transparency and report wrongdoing through established channels.
“Let us ensure that NUSAF IV becomes a programme remembered not for the money it spent, but for the families it lifted, the enterprises it strengthened, the jobs it created and the dignity it restored,” she said.
She reiterated the need for collective commitment to eliminating resource diversion, discrimination and corruption, adding that no eligible household should be left behind through negligence or abuse of office.
Busoga among the biggest beneficiaries
In a separate message delivered through Minister Babalanda, the Minister of State for Northern Uganda, Hon. Beatrice Akello Akori, announced that Busoga’s inclusion in NUSAF IV marks the first time the sub-region is benefiting from the programme since its inception in 2003.
Hon. Akello described the development as a historic milestone that would open new opportunities for poor and vulnerable households to improve their livelihoods, build resilience and participate in economic activities.
NUSAF IV is a Government of Uganda programme implemented through 104 beneficiary local governments, with support from the Office of the Prime Minister and other government institutions. The World Bank is financing the programme to the tune of US$276 million, comprising a US$250 million credit, and it is scheduled to run until December 2031.
The programme focuses on three major areas: sustainable livelihoods; resilience and human capital development; and strengthening social protection delivery systems.
Under the initiative, poor rural households will receive grants of up to approximately Shs1 million, alongside business skills training, mentorship and market linkages. Young people and women in urban areas will also benefit from entrepreneurship training and business grants.
Other interventions include climate-smart public works, nutrition support for mothers and young children, and direct assistance to extremely poor households unable to participate in public works.
Hon. Akello said Busoga had significant development needs, noting that approximately 840,700 people live below the poverty line, making it the second-highest among the nine NUSAF IV beneficiary sub-regions in terms of the number of people living in poverty.
She added that Busoga, with a population exceeding 4.3 million people spread across 15 local governments, is the most populous sub-region under the programme.
As part of the targeted interventions, approximately 6,200 mothers with young children in Buyende, Mayuge and Namutumba districts will receive nutrition support and counselling aimed at addressing anaemia and stunting.
In Jinja City and the municipalities of Bugiri, Iganga and Kamuli, young people and women engaged in the informal economy will benefit from entrepreneurship training and business grants to strengthen their enterprises and improve household incomes.
The Minister also highlighted the importance of establishing the National Social Registry, which will provide reliable household data to guide the identification and selection of beneficiaries for government social protection programmes.
She urged residents to register for National Identity Cards and provide accurate information during household registration exercises to support fair and transparent targeting.
On programme accountability, Hon. Akello said the Inspectorate of Government would play an active role in monitoring implementation through Community Monitoring Volunteers, community scorecards, interface meetings and investigations into complaints.
She cautioned programme implementers and local leaders against corruption, favouritism and exploiting beneficiaries, emphasising that no individual should be required to pay money to access NUSAF IV benefits.
Beneficiaries will also have access to grievance reporting channels, including SMS, USSD, WhatsApp, toll-free telephone lines and a web portal, while payments will be made through verified bank accounts and mobile money platforms.
Hon. Akello called on local government leaders, RDCs, security officers and project desk officers to safeguard programme resources, mobilise communities and ensure fair beneficiary selection.
She pledged to personally monitor implementation through unannounced visits to project sites and hold responsible officials accountable for delivering the programme’s intended results.
The rollout of NUSAF IV in Busoga is expected to strengthen government efforts to tackle household poverty, expand economic opportunities and improve the resilience of vulnerable communities through coordinated interventions.
