Indiscipline, abuse of authority, and internal conflicts among Resident District Commissioners (RDCs), their deputies, and assistants are undermining government service delivery, the Office of the President has warned. The officers have been urged to abandon personal agendas and office conflicts and instead focus on their core mandate of ensuring effective service delivery in their areas of deployment.
The warning was issued by the Permanent Secretary in the Office of the President, Hajji Yunus Kakande, while addressing RDCs, their deputies and assistants in Jinja City. Kakande said discipline begins with respect for colleagues and supervisors, which he said is essential for creating functional working relationships and improving performance.
“Indiscipline must stop. Why do you create anarchy? Why don’t you respect your elders? Why don’t you respect your supervisors? All this affects your general performance, and it should stop with immediate effect,” Kakande said. He urged RDCs to respect their seniors regardless of their appointments, saying this would reduce what he described as “arrivalism” and give them more time to serve the wider population.
Kakande also challenged RDCs to delegate some of their responsibilities to their deputies and assistants instead of concentrating excessive work in their offices. He said the positions of deputy RDCs and assistants were created specifically to reduce the workload of RDCs, but some commissioners continue to personally attend workshops and handle long queues of people seeking their attention.
“The offices of deputy RDCs and assistants were created to lessen the workload of RDCs who were overwhelmed at the time. However, most RDCs attend all workshops, keep long queues of people waiting to see them, rather than delegate surplus activities to their juniors, for timely execution,” he said.
According to Kakande, effective delegation would promote teamwork, reduce delays and improve service delivery. He also cautioned RDCs against exercising excessive authority over their juniors, urging them to offer guidance and correction with humility. Kakande similarly encouraged junior officers to accept constructive criticism, saying a positive response to correction promotes professional growth and better service to communities.
“If you are to succeed as an individual, you must respect your leaders. People who don’t show respect to their leaders or colleagues cannot sustain progressive careers for long,” he said. Kakande further urged RDCs to redirect their energies towards mobilising young people for development instead of engaging in prolonged office conflicts.
He cautioned them against using excessive force against citizens and urged them to exercise their authority within the law. “Work within the armpits of the law, be fair, accessible and professional. Serve all people with humility and do not use public offices to settle personal scores,” he said. Salim Kumaketch, the Jinja Resident City Commissioner, who delivered a vote of thanks on behalf of his colleagues, commended Kakande for what he described as parental advice on discipline.
Kumaketch said discipline in small and everyday actions helps public officers develop the character required for greater responsibilities and future promotions. Richard Gulume, the Bugiri District RDC and whip of RDCs in the Busoga sub-region, acknowledged that some of their colleagues have exhibited high levels of indiscipline, describing the conduct as unbecoming of public officers.
Gulume said such behaviour was gradually bringing the Office of the President into disrepute and affecting service delivery, as officers mandated to oversee government programmes become embroiled in internal conflicts. He said, with support from the RDC Secretariat, officers implicated in indiscipline would be engaged privately and encouraged to abandon conduct that damages the reputation of the Office of the President-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
