Local govt HR managers tipped on improving service delivery standards

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The permanent secretary in the local government ministry, Ben Kumumanya, has said that proper service delivery in local governments depends on three cardinal principles of revolutionary civil servants: patience, commitment and sacrifice.

“Many people these days want to rush through things; they don’t want to develop ideas until they get the right product, which is tested. We need to be patient for us to get better results,” Kumumanya said.

He made the remarks on April 20, 2026, while presiding over the orientation training of heads of human resource management in local governments and secretaries of district and city service commissions at the National Leadership Institute (NALI), Kyankwanzi.

Joyce Babirye, the principal communication Officer of the Ministry of local government, sharing a light moment with Ben Kumumanya, the permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government shortly after his arrival at the National Leadership Institute (NALI), Kyankwanzi. (Photo by Simon Peter Tumwine)

Ben Kumumanya, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government, addressing Human Resource managers of local government during orientation training of the heads of the human resource management in local governments and secretaries of districts and city service commissions at the National Leadership Institute (NALI), Kyankwanzi. (Photo by Simon Peter Tumwine)

Kumumanya said many people fall off track because they are not committed to their cause, adding that one must be ready to pay the price.

“The price could be time, physical energy, brain energy or mental energy, for one to deploy as part of the contribution,” Kumumanya said, emphasising that human resources are one of the key ingredients required to achieve success in any job.

Kumumanya said that to deliver on any task, one must have a mission, strategy, manpower, machinery and money.

When government refers to human resource managers, he said, these are the people who conduct manpower analysis, prepare submissions for recruitment, identify staffing gaps, and manage the terms and conditions of service in both the public service and local governments.

“We have brought these human resource managers to NALI so that they can undergo a two-week orientation to sharpen them, entrench them so that they can produce revolutionary civil servants who are managing the human resource,” Kumumanya said.

A total of 237 human resource managers are currently participating in an orientation programme, which officially started yesterday (April 20) and will run until April 30.

During the orientation, Kumumanya said the biggest challenge in the fight against corruption is limited information flow, noting that government machinery such as the Office of the Inspector General of Government(IGG), the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), the Anti-Corruption Unit and other anti-corruption bodies rely heavily on public reporting.

He said that improved information flow has already enabled authorities to apprehend a number of culprits in districts such as Kiryandongo, Mpigi, Mukono, Rakai and Mitooma, adding that once the government becomes aware of any injustice or corruption, it takes action.

“Once the public gives us information, we shall surely deal with this evil,” Kumumanya said.