Arua — The Commissioner for Local Economic Development, Mr. Namara Anthony, has today opened the Regional Workshop on Local Economic Development for West Nile Sub-region, on behalf of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Local Government, Mr. Ben Kumumanya.
Addressing RDCs, CAOs, Town Clerks, City Clerks, Commercial Officers, Planners, Production , Marketing Officers, LLG Extension Officers and partners in Arua, Mr. Namara thanked participants for honoring the engagement.
“Local Economic Development must move beyond policies, meetings and reports to deliver tangible improvements in the incomes and livelihoods of our people.”
He said Uganda’s development agenda under NDP IV and the Tenfold Growth Strategy requires increased productivity, enterprise development, job creation and Agro-industrialisation, with PDM as the key instrument for transition from subsistence to money economy.
“PDM is not simply about releasing funds. Our success must be measured not by money released, but by the economic progress of households we serve,” he said.
Mr. Namara outlined six priorities:
- Technical responsibility: Commercial and Production Officers must deliver market-oriented extension that connects production to demand and farmers to markets. He called for an end to departmental silos.
- Performance and accountability: “Let no officer confuse the submission of a report with the achievement of a result.” He said monitoring must lead to corrective action and public resources must translate into real benefits.
- Agro-industrialisation: Facilities must operate efficiently, access raw materials, meet quality standards and be commercially sustainable. Focus must shift from counting facilities to whether they create jobs and add value.
- LEDICs: Local Economic Development Investment Committees must not exist merely on paper. “A functional LEDIC is a mechanism for bringing government, business and communities together to make the local economy work.”
- Coordination: Effective PDM and LED delivery requires collaboration between MoLG, Ministry of Finance, local governments and private sector. “Our plans must connect to budgets; production to markets; extension to enterprise development.”
- Integrity and urgency: Citing “Kisanja Hakuna Kulala — no more sleeping, no more corruption,” he said there must be no complacency, delays or tolerance for misuse of public resources. “The people we serve must remain supreme in our decisions.”
He urged participants to focus on practical solutions to strengthen LEDICs, improve extension services, enhance data management and ensure productive use of agro-processing facilities.
“Our responsibility is not simply to implement programs; it is to transform lives. Our success is not what we say in this room, but what changes in the lives of the people we serve.”
On behalf of PS Ben Kumumanya, he declared the workshop officially open
