Lesotho govt praises Uganda on decentralization

By Doreen Musingo

JINJA - The Lesotho government has hailed Uganda government for decentralizing its systems of operation which have brought services closer to the people.

Dr Pontso Matumeto Sekatte, the local government minister of Lesotho who spoke to both authorities of Jinja district and the municipality expressed, interest in the decentralization system of Uganda saying it has moved a step to serve people better and that they are also in the process of decentralizing some of their ministries.

“We are here to learn how your central government has managed to decentralize its operations to serve people better.
If we borrow a leaf from you, this will help us because we are still lagging in our operations,” she said.

An ophthalmologist examines Dr Pontso, the local government minister from Lesotho on her tour of Nile international hospital PHOTO/Clare Muhindo.

The minister was on a capacity building tour in Jinja district on Friday. She visited Nile international hospital and Galaxy international school where she was impressed by the modern technology and equipment used.

She also visited the newly constructed Jinja central market and the Source of Nile. She observed that the market had helped people become self employed and also job creators.

Dr Pontso urged both authorities to engage the local communities become job creators rather than blaming government for failure of creating employment.

“The Uganda government has played its role while the vendors have managed to put the market to its right use, this has helped government reduce of the burden of employing the people found in the market,” she said while praising government for considering the vendors.

Dr Pontso who also learnt that Jinja central market which was constructed under the Markets  and Agricultural Trade Improvement (MATIP I) was the biggest in Uganda and Africa advised that it should also be used as a tourist attraction for visiting delegates from other countries.

“This is a major investment to your country, as you get government officials from other countries who want to visit the market use it as a tourist attraction because it will add value on your economy,” she advised.

Dr Nur, the Nile international hospital deputy medical director and also a pediatric surgeon, said they have partnered with Jinja municipality to open up a branch at the market since it accommodates huge numbers of vendors.

“Most people fear visiting the facility thinking it’s so expensive but we want them to stop that because we are opening up a branch at the market so that they can easily access our services,” he said.

Jinja Mayor Mohammed Baswale Kezaala said the new developments were meant to attract tourists and investors to improve on the economy of Jinja.