Leaders must be held accountable
What you need to know:
The issue: Leadership
Our view: Leaders, in this case elected leaders must be seen to show cause beyond the sugar and soap handouts they entice voters with and perhaps even voters can begin to value their votes and raise their standards beyond these miserly bribes by people seeking to be voted into leadership.
We reported yesterday that President Museveni has criticized Acholi leaders for failing to unite locals to embrace poverty alleviation strategies. He said that his moves to get people out of poverty had been frustrated by political leaders. The President made the remarks while assessing the progress of works at Atiak Sugar Works in Pachillo Parish Amuru District at the weekend. According to the head of State, while politicians have boycotted his strategies, RDCs have slept on the job. See Daily Monitor of April 15, “Museveni blames poverty in the North on Acholi leaders”.
In an unrelated story also published in the Daily Monitor , Muslims in Jinja City have put politicians implicated in aiding or grabbing their land on notice ahead of the 2026 General Election. This was in regards to politicians and Mafias who allegedly grabbed over 20 acres out of close to 100 acres of land owned by Bugembe Islamic Institute in Jinja North City Division.
These two stories, although completely unrelated, point to the need for leaders, whether elected or appointed to be held accountable for their deeds or misdeeds.
It might not be entirely true that poverty or land grabbing should be blamed on leaders but it is a starting point for society to be called to order. This is why Social Media exhibitions are very popular because of the semblance of calling to accountability the powers that be that they provide to the general public.
The Muslims in Jinja City if they are serious, factual and objective do make a great point in leveraging good service for votes in the coming elections. Leaders, in this case elected leaders must be seen to show cause beyond the sugar and soap handouts they entice voters with and perhaps even voters can begin to value their votes and raise their standards beyond these miserly bribes by people seeking to be voted into leadership. It has been said many times that we deserve the leaders we have.
Well, let’s go the extra mile and choose the leaders we need and then hold them accountable. At the end of the day, the ball goes back to the voter incase of elected leaders and appointing authority for those who are appointed.
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