Inside Uganda’s grassroots government: What LC I and LC II Executive Councils must do for 45.9 million citizens
KAMPALA, UGANDA — Congratulations, Mr. Solomon Sserwanjja, upon your election as LC I Chairperson of Bamutakudde Village.
The voters of Bamutakudde Village saw potential in you. Beyond campaign posters, political slogans and election-day excitement, they entrusted you with something far greater than a political office: their community and their trust.
As you take your seat as chairperson, there is something more important than the celebrations, applause and victory photographs. There is responsibility.
Your election has placed you at one of the most important points in Uganda’s decentralised governance system — the village.
Before you settle into that chair, it is important to understand what it represents, what your council is expected to do, what the Executive Committee is supposed to deliver and why LC I and LC II leadership matters to the ordinary Ugandan.
The Local Council system is not simply about having a chairperson, a committee and village meetings. It is about bringing the State closer to the citizen.
Uganda had a population of 45,905,417 people in the 2024 National Population and Housing Census, according to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics. Electoral Commission statistics for 2026 show the enormous grassroots network through which this population is governed, including 71,214 villages and 10,717 parishes.
Behind every number is a community. Behind every community are families. And behind many of those families is a Local Council leader expected to listen, mobilise, coordinate, account and serve.
That is why your election matters.
THE SWINGING CHAIR IS NOT A THRONE
Mr. Chairperson, the chair you are about to occupy is not a throne. It is a seat of public trust.
The LC I chairperson is often one of the first elected political leaders an ordinary citizen can easily reach. That makes the office deceptively powerful.
You are expected to know your community, understand residents’ concerns and know which Government programmes have reached the people and which have not.
You should understand the condition of community roads, sanitation, security, public facilities and other services affecting residents.
When citizens have a problem, you should know where to take it.
That is decentralisation in its simplest form: Government comes closer to the people through leadership that understands the people.
Your chair should therefore not make you distant from those who elected you. It should make you more accessible to them.
FROM LC I TO LC II: THE GOVERNANCE LADDER
The LC I council operates at village level, while LC II operates at parish or ward level. From there, governance connects to sub-county, town, division, municipality, city and district structures.
The pathway is therefore:
Citizen → LC I → LC II → Sub-county/Town/Division → Municipality/City/District
This is more than an administrative hierarchy. It is supposed to be a communication highway between citizens and Government.
The citizen raises a concern. The LC I captures it. The LC II helps consolidate wider parish or ward priorities. Higher local-government structures then have an opportunity to respond.
When this system works, decentralisation becomes tangible.
When it fails, Government may have policies, budgets and programmes, but citizens may never feel their impact.
The failure is therefore not merely administrative. It becomes a failure of the bridge between the citizen and the State.
WHAT LC II MEANS TO THE ORDINARY CITIZEN
The LC II chairperson occupies an important position because the parish or ward brings together several villages.
This allows issues affecting more than one village to be consolidated into wider community priorities.
Think about a road affecting several villages, a health facility serving an entire parish, a school serving children from different communities, environmental degradation affecting several settlements or a security problem crossing village boundaries.
These issues require coordination and leadership.
That is why LC II leadership must not become another political title. It must become a platform for solving community problems.
WHAT MUST LC I AND LC II EXECUTIVE COUNCILS DO?
The Local Council Executive Committee is not simply a group of people sitting beside the chairperson. It is a working arm of the council, helping translate community priorities, council decisions and Government programmes into action.
Under Uganda’s Local Governments Act, lower local-government Executive Committees have responsibilities that include implementing council decisions, initiating policies for council consideration, overseeing implementation, helping maintain law and order and security, monitoring programmes and projects, mobilising citizens and resources for community development, serving as a communication channel between Government and citizens, and monitoring Government, local-government and NGO projects in their areas.
In simple terms, the Executive Committee must help answer four fundamental questions:
What does the community need?
What has the council decided?
What is Government doing about it?
Is the citizen actually receiving the service?
That is the work behind the title.
1. REPRESENTING THE PEOPLE
The first responsibility is representation.
The LC I Executive Committee is closest to the village population. It should understand the problems affecting residents and ensure that those concerns reach the appropriate level of government.
At LC II level, the Executive Committee performs a wider coordinating role because the parish or ward brings together several villages.
A problem affecting one household may remain local. A problem affecting several villages can become a parish priority.
The Executive Committee is therefore both the voice of the community and the ear of Government.
2. IMPLEMENTING COUNCIL DECISIONS
A council meeting should not end when members rise from their seats. Decisions must be implemented.
The Executive Committee has a responsibility to supervise and follow up implementation of decisions made by the council.
Leaders must ask:
- What was agreed?
- Who is responsible?
- What action has been taken?
- What remains outstanding?
- What support is required from a higher authority?
Without implementation, minutes remain paper.
With implementation, decisions become services, programmes, protection and community development.
3. MONITORING GOVERNMENT PROGRAMMES AND PROJECTS
The Executive Committee is also an important community monitoring mechanism.
Government programmes may be designed at national level, funded through budgets and implemented through different institutions. But LC leaders see what happens on the ground.
Is the project there?
Is it serving the intended beneficiaries?
Are the beneficiaries genuine?
Is the work being done?
Are public resources being used properly?
Is the community satisfied?
The Local Council structure can help identify gaps and communicate them to relevant authorities.
This is particularly important for programmes such as the Parish Development Model (PDM) and Emyooga, where the ultimate test is not simply the amount of money allocated but whether the intended household or enterprise receives the benefit.
4. MOBILISING CITIZENS FOR DEVELOPMENT
Government cannot transform communities without community participation.
LC I and LC II leaders therefore have an important mobilisation responsibility. They can mobilise residents to participate in Government programmes, community meetings, sanitation activities, environmental protection, self-help initiatives and other development activities.
They can also help mobilise community resources for projects that improve local welfare.
The message is simple:
Development is not something done to citizens. It is something citizens must participate in.
5. MAINTAINING PEACE, LAW AND SECURITY
A functioning community requires peace.
The Executive Committee has responsibilities relating to maintaining law and order and supporting security within the community.
This does not mean replacing the police or other security agencies. Rather, LC leaders provide an important local link for identifying problems, encouraging peaceful coexistence, helping prevent conflicts and referring serious matters to the appropriate authorities.
At village and parish level, leaders are often among the first people to hear about disputes. That gives them an important preventive role.
6. RESOLVING AND REFERRING COMMUNITY DISPUTES
Not every community disagreement needs to become a major conflict.
Local Council leaders can help resolve disputes within their lawful mandate and refer matters requiring higher intervention to the appropriate authorities.
The leader who listens early may prevent a disagreement from becoming a crisis.
A community cannot develop while destroying the resources upon which its people depend.
The Executive Committee therefore has responsibilities connected to production and environmental protection. This includes encouraging productive activities, supporting community development initiatives and promoting responsible use and protection of the local environment.
For communities whose livelihoods depend on agriculture, natural resources, trade and other productive activities, this role is fundamental.
Development must create wealth without destroying the future.
A Government programme cannot benefit citizens who do not know about it.
The Executive Committee therefore has an important communication role.
Residents need information about Government programmes, council decisions, community meetings, opportunities, public services and their rights and responsibilities.
The LC leader can become the channel through which Government information reaches the household.
But communication must work in both directions.
Government must hear citizens too.
The Local Council is therefore not merely a loudspeaker for Government. It is also a listening post for Government.
9. HEALTH, CHILDREN AND COMMUNITY WELFARE
Health is ultimately experienced at community level.
The Executive Committee has responsibilities touching on health and children’s welfare and should help identify concerns affecting vulnerable residents and communicate them to the appropriate authorities.
The same applies to children who may be exposed to neglect, abuse, unsafe conditions or other vulnerabilities.
A strong LC system should know when a community problem requires intervention.
10. WOMEN, YOUTH, PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES AND OLDER PERSONS
A community cannot claim inclusive development if some of its people remain invisible.
The Executive Committee should ensure that the interests of women, youth, persons with disabilities and older persons are reflected in community priorities.
Women must have space in decision-making.
Young people must be mobilised and supported to participate in development.
Persons with disabilities must not be excluded from Government programmes.
Older persons must not become forgotten members of the community.
Representation must mean more than having names on a committee. It must mean listening and acting.
11. SAFEGUARDING PUBLIC PROPERTY
Public property belongs to the people.
Schools, health facilities, roads, community structures, land and other public assets must be protected.
Local leaders should therefore help communities safeguard public resources and report misuse, vandalism or other threats to public property.
A chairperson who protects public property is protecting the community’s future.
Leadership without accountability can easily become a danger to the people it was elected to serve.
The Executive Committee has a responsibility to promote proper management and accountability in matters falling within its mandate and ensure that community development is not undermined by misuse of resources.
Citizens have a right to ask:
Where did the money go?
Who benefited?
What was delivered?
What remains to be done?
Good local leadership should not fear such questions. It should welcome them.
13. IDENTIFYING VULNERABLE HOUSEHOLDS
The grassroots leader is often closer to vulnerable households than officials sitting in distant offices.
LC leaders can help identify families and individuals facing serious vulnerabilities and connect them to appropriate Government and community support mechanisms.
This is one of the ways decentralisation turns a national policy into a human response.
Behind every statistic is a person.
And sometimes the LC leader is the person who knows that person’s story.
THE CHAIRPERSON: LEADER, COORDINATOR AND ACCOUNTABILITY POINT
For Mr. Solomon Sserwanjja, the election is therefore not simply an achievement to celebrate. It is a mandate to coordinate.
The chairperson remains the political head of the council. But political leadership should not be confused with personal control.
The chairperson presides over the Executive Committee, provides political direction, monitors the general administration of the area and, within the legal framework, oversees service delivery and implementation of Government programmes.
The chairperson also has a responsibility to report to the council on the state of affairs in the area and uphold the Constitution, laws and council by-laws while promoting the welfare of citizens.
That means the chairperson must coordinate rather than dominate.
The chairperson is not the council.
The Executive Committee is a team.
The council is larger than its chairperson.
And the community is larger than all of them.
A good chairperson does not silence the council. A good chairperson makes the council work.
LC I AND LC II: WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?
The distinction is crucial.
LC I is the first formal political governance point at village level. It is closest to the household, sees the immediate concerns of residents and provides the first channel through which community issues can enter the local-government system.
LC II operates at parish or ward level. It brings together concerns from several villages, coordinates wider priorities and provides another link between grassroots communities and higher local-government structures.
In simple terms:
LC I sees the household and village.
LC II sees the parish or ward and connects several villages.
Neither level should work in isolation. They are parts of one decentralised governance chain.
THE CONSTITUTION GIVES YOU A MANDATE
Mr. Sserwanjja, your authority does not begin and end with the ballot. It sits within Uganda’s constitutional order.
Article 59 of the 1995 Constitution provides that every citizen aged 18 years and above has the right to vote.
Chapter Eleven provides the constitutional foundation for local government and decentralisation, while Article 176 provides for a decentralised system of local government and emphasises people’s participation and democratic control in decision-making.
That is the constitutional heartbeat of your office.
You were not elected merely to occupy a chair.
You were elected to represent people.
And representation carries responsibility.
THE FIRST LINE OF ACCOUNTABILITY
Uganda’s fight against corruption cannot be won from Kampala alone. It must begin where citizens see public programmes being implemented.
It must begin where Government money becomes a road, a classroom, a health service, an agricultural programme or support to a household.
LC leaders therefore have an important role in helping communities monitor public projects, identify irregularities, verify beneficiaries and raise concerns about abuse of public resources and poor service delivery.
The Executive Committee’s monitoring role makes it an important community accountability mechanism.
Citizens know what is happening.
They know where projects are.
They know who received what.
They know which promises were fulfilled and which remained promises.
Sometimes, they only need a leader willing to listen.
PDM, EMYOOGA AND THE QUESTION OF DELIVERY
Government has invested in programmes designed to transform households and communities, including the Parish Development Model and Emyooga.
But the ordinary citizen does not measure Government by policy documents.
They ask:
Did the programme reach me?
Did the money reach the intended beneficiary?
Did the project deliver what it promised?
Who do I report to when something goes wrong?
The answer should begin at the grassroots.
This is why LC I and LC II structures matter.
The local leader is often among the first people capable of identifying the gap between what Government planned and what the citizen actually received.
A programme may look successful on paper. But the real test is whether the citizen feels its impact.
That is where decentralisation is either vindicated or defeated.
KUMUMANYA’S BIGGER MESSAGE
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government Ben Kumumanya has continued to emphasise the importance of decentralisation, accountability and effective local governance as Uganda inducts its newly elected local-government leaders.
The Ministry’s training and induction work places emphasis on strengthening local leaders’ understanding of their statutory roles, constitutional and legal mandates, community engagement, local service delivery, conflict mediation and local administrative and financial management.
For newly elected LC I and LC II leaders, this is more than classroom knowledge. It is preparation for the daily reality of governing communities.
Because decentralisation does not end when a policy leaves Kampala.
It is tested when that policy reaches a village.
A policy designed in Kampala must eventually reach a household.
A Government programme must eventually reach a beneficiary.
A public resource must eventually produce a public service.
And somewhere along that journey stands a local leader.
That leader can either strengthen the bridge between citizen and State — or become another obstacle on the road.
YOUR VICTORY IS YESTERDAY’S STORY
Mr. Sserwanjja, your victory is yesterday’s story.
Your performance is tomorrow’s story.
The people who voted for you did not simply give you a chair. They gave you their trust.
That trust must be protected.
You will be judged by how you treat the poor.
By whether you listen to women, youth, persons with disabilities and older persons.
By whether you can unite political opponents after an election.
By whether you protect public property.
By whether you resist corruption.
By whether you can tell the truth when telling the truth is difficult.
By whether you monitor Government programmes.
By whether you follow up council decisions.
And, ultimately, by whether an ordinary citizen can walk into your office, tell you a problem and leave knowing that someone is listening.
That is the true meaning of the swinging chair.
It is not a throne. It is a bridge.
And every day you sit in it, you must decide whether that bridge will bring the citizen closer to the State — or leave the citizen standing on the other side.
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