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Mpigi makes radical reforms in education, agriculture
Mpigi district council has taken some radical steps to revamp service delivery in the areas of education, agriculture and health care.
Emmanuel Sseyiga, the Secretary for Finance for Mpigi district council told councillors that council ruled that parents have to make a contribution towards the provision of lunch to pupils.
The decision is a major departure from the government policy that banned parents from contributing financially towards the provision of lunch. The government instead wants parents to pack food for their children. But the policy has faced stiff criticism as unpractical.
Sseyiga added that in order to combat the problem of absenteeism among teachers, the council has allocated funds towards building 3 roomed staff houses in Bujjo and Bugayi primary schools.
Mpigi council has also allocated 12 bursaries worth Ushs 300,000 each to A-Level students to continue their studies in institutions of higher learning.
In agriculture, Mpigi district council has introduced a Heifer project aimed at improving household incomes among the poor people. During the past financial year, the district gave out 11 heifers to lucky beneficiaries.
Sseyiga however lamented the abolition of NAADS by the central government as a blow to the district’s efforts to provide inputs to farmers. He noted that following the closure of NAADS, the district lost Ushs 130m that had been ear-marked for provision of inputs and other agricultural-related stories.
“The removal of NAADS created a big vacuum especially in agriculture sector and so we had to sustain it by cutting other budgets,” Sseyiga said.
Mpigi town council mayor Charles Lukubo Kyasanku used the budget speech to appeal to government to increase financial support to local governments to boost development.
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