Taybewa cautions resident commissioners against excessive force

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KYANKWANZI - Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa has cautioned Resident District Commissioners/Resident City Commissioners against the use of excessive force.

“Parliament keeps receiving complaints about the poor conduct of some of RDCs/RCCs, especially those who apply excessive force while performing their duties. Such behaviour is not good for the image of government and destroys our country’s democratic credentials,” Tayebwa said while addressing them online from Parliament.

At the invitation of Minister for the Presidency Milly Babalanda, Tayebwa addressed on Wednesday, May 29, 2024, the newly appointed assistant RDCs/RCCs who are attending a two-week induction course in their roles and functions at the National Leadership Training Institute, Kyankwanzi district.

He noted that the office of the RDC/RCC plays a great role in the development of the country, but at the same time, if it is poorly handled, it can turn out to be a big stumbling block for the development of our communities.

According to him, RDCs have a key role to play in monitoring, communicating, and mobilising the population to participate in government programmes, while the politicians alongside the technical teams are key in planning and evenly distributing public resources so that the communities can address their priority needs.

“It is important for the RDCs and their assistants to appreciate the demarcation of roles and functions that the National Constitution and the Local Government Act (as amended) stipulate for RDCs and the political leaders. These roles were deliberately determined to deepen decentralization and provide an entry point for the central government to support, guide, and exact accountability in local governments through the office of the RDC,” Tayebwa observed.

He added that the RDCs must be able to work with the local and national leaders through constant consultations, sharing monitoring and accountability findings, and resolving together on national and local issues that have a bearing on the local constituencies.

He emphasized that these should be areas of special interest to the assistant RDCs/RCCs as they start on their journey to serve the people. He wished them a fruitful induction and congratulated them on catching the eye of the appointing authority. 

Annual evaluation

During the same training, secretary of the Office of the President Hajji Yunus Kakande urged the commissioners to espouse patriotism and mutual respect. He also said the office will conduct an annual evaluation of their conduct for disciplinary purposes.

In April, President Yoweri Museveni appointed 300 assistant resident commissioners in different districts to mobilise the community for development and to fight corruption.