Beyond the Failures: Kumumanya urges journalists to tell Uganda’s local government development story

What the report says

Watchdog Uganda reports that columnist and local-government commentator Kumumanya is urging Ugandan journalists to broaden their coverage of decentralisation and public investment beyond corruption, delays and other failures. The piece says local reporting should also examine what roads, markets, health centres and schools have delivered for communities, and how those projects affect daily life, jobs and access to services.

The article uses Entebbe Municipality as an example, describing road upgrades completed under the Uganda Support to Municipal Infrastructure Development programme, including Church Road, Fulu Road, Basudde Rise and Nyondo Close. It also points to newer works such as the Kitooro-Kiwafu-Nakiwogo road project and other planned links, saying reporters should follow projects from budgeting and procurement through construction and into their real-world impact.

Kitooro Market is presented as another case study. Watchdog Uganda says the market, inaugurated in 2021, was built under the Markets and Agricultural Trade Improvement Project Phase II and includes more than 1,000 trading spaces plus sanitation, security and parking facilities. The article argues that journalists should ask how such infrastructure changes trading conditions, employment and incomes, rather than treating it only as a building project.

The story also cites Busia district budget figures for health, education and rural roads to illustrate how decentralisation spending can be examined at ground level. In general, the piece frames development journalism as a balance: continue to investigate misuse or poor workmanship, but also document visible gains where public investment has improved services.