The Minister of State for Local Government and Woman MP for Masaka City, Justine Nameere, has called for increased investment in mechanised agriculture and agro-processing factories in Masaka, warning that rapid urbanisation and shrinking farmland are threatening the region’s agricultural potential.
Nameere said Masaka City is facing growing pressure from an influx of people displaced from fishing communities, wetlands and urban trading centres, while the amount of land available for agriculture continues to decline.
“In Masaka City, arable land has become very, very small. We used to be the agricultural region, but what we are left with as a city is very, very minimal arable land,” she said.
She argued that the city must embrace modern farming technologies, including mechanised and vertical farming, to sustain agricultural productivity despite limited land.
The minister revealed that President Yoweri Museveni had pledged to establish a mechanisation centre in Masaka to serve the wider sub-region and support farmers with modern agricultural equipment.
“We require mechanised agriculture. We are going to have the centre of that entire zone in Masaka City,” Nameere said.
She also disclosed that government plans could position Masaka as a major seedling production hub, supplying planting materials to farmers across the country.
However, Nameere stressed that the region’s most urgent need is industrialisation through value-addition facilities that can process agricultural produce and create jobs.
“If there is an area in Uganda that badly needs factories, it is Masaka. We don’t have a single value-addition factory in an agricultural city,” she said.
She described agro-processing factories as a long-term solution to improving household incomes, reducing post-harvest losses and driving sustainable economic growth.
In her new role in the Ministry of Local Government, Nameere raised concerns over weak supervision and poor accountability among some local government employees, saying inefficiency within the system continues to undermine service delivery.
She accused some officials of operating beyond the reach of disciplinary mechanisms and frustrating efforts to improve public services.
“There are people in local government that feel like they are bigger than any audit, bigger than any authority and bigger than any supervisory body. That’s wrong,” she said.
The minister particularly criticised absenteeism among frontline workers, including extension officers, production staff and local government administrators, arguing that some routinely abandon their duty stations without facing consequences.
To address the challenge, Nameere called for the introduction of digital attendance and performance monitoring systems across local governments.
“We are going to fight in Cabinet and Parliament to make sure local government attendance of work is digitised,” she said.
She argued that technology can play a key role in strengthening accountability, improving service delivery and ensuring that public servants remain available to the communities they serve.
Nameere also advocated for stronger protection and empowerment of whistleblowers, describing them as critical allies in exposing corruption, negligence and inefficiency within local government structures.
“In just the past week after my appointment, I have received a lot of reliable information from whistleblowers. We want to find a system of empowering whistleblowers,” she said.
The minister further urged opposition politicians to work with government in addressing service delivery challenges rather than engaging in what she termed political grandstanding.
Without naming her directly, Nameere criticised a long-serving opposition Member of Parliament whom she accused of publicly attacking Local Government Minister Balaam Barugahara and questioning the ministry’s role in resolving local government challenges.
“I request her to call herself to order,” Nameere said.
Her remarks come as the government continues to push for improved accountability in local governments, with increasing emphasis on digital systems, performance monitoring and service delivery reforms aimed at enhancing efficiency across the public sector.
