Museveni advisers to audit govt performance

President Museveni is today expected to meet his advisers, who will audit his performance and offer advice on how best the ruling National Resistance Movement government can deliver on its mandate.

More than 160 presidential advisers have since Monday been camped at the National Leadership Institute in Kyankwanzi.

They will interface with the President in what is believed to be their first meeting in a long while.

Mr Faruk Kirunda, the deputy presidential press secretary, told Daily Monitor yesterday that the advisers will be expected to audit the performance of the President as well as his government on its mandate, manifesto and promises.

“Mzee (President Museveni) is going to address them tomorrow (today). They are going to be meeting annually to audit the performance of the President and government so [that] they can be advising him on an annual basis,” Mr Kirunda said.

He added: “He will answer some of their concerns. We are going to benefit out of that engagement because the advisers are going to be active, most of them have not been  working. We are going to set up a desk at the President’s office where their issues can be filed and forwarded to the President, and they get feedback”.

Sources indicate that the retreat followed a Zoom meeting between the advisers and the Minister for Presidency, Ms Milly Babalanda.

 Whereas the minister had proposed a dinner, President Museveni preferred a retreat at Kyankwanzi.

Sources indicate that some of the advisers expressed dissatisfaction on not having audience with the appointing authority, and consequently not delivering on their mandate.

Mr Kirunda confirmed that the status quo will change with the advisers now set to meet the President once every year.

“This is the launch. They have been complaining that they are redundant, so we are creating for them a platform. We expect that next year they will be active so that by time they camp to advise the President, targets will be set according to their findings,” he said.

Mr Kirunda said the retreat has been based on government programmes such as the parish development model, Emyooga, the four core principles of the NRM, and lectures on mind set change.

Mr Emmanuel Dombo, the NRM director for information, said the President’s failure to meet the advisers is due to his busy schedule.

He added that the platform will provide an opportunity to raise matters of national concern, and aid the NRM government in meeting its promises.

“The presidential advisers cover different specific areas for which they have better knowledge, better information or better time to make a follow up so that they can advise the President,” Mr Dombo said.

“We believe that by the end of this engagement, the President will be better informed about the issues they have raised, but also discuss with them in order to deliver the social economic transformation of the people of Uganda, what should be done,” he added.

President Museveni won his sixth elective term early this year, with a promise to secure the future of Ugandans through social-economic transformation.

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