The Kabale District Resident Commissioner(RDC), Godfrey Nyakahuma, has today issued a stern warning to extension workers across the district who have abandoned their duties despite being paid by the government. Nyakahuma made these remarks during the launch of a three-day workshop hosted by the Common Ground Project with various stakeholders, including Kabale lower local governments and community representatives, Kabale District political and technical personnel, for awareness visioning and action planning at White Horse Inn, Kabale.
Launched in 2022, the Common Ground Project is a four-year initiative funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Uganda. Implemented by Integrated Seed and Sector Development (ISSD) and Wageningen Environmental Research, this project aims to create sustainable farming systems, restore watersheds, and improve marketing opportunities in the highlands of Uganda.
While addressing the gathering, Nyakahuma warned parish and sub-county authorities to stop harboring non-performing extension workers, emphasizing that these workers are paid by the government to provide various services in their respective workplaces. He noted that during his visit to Butanda Sub County and Katuna Town Council, which border Rwanda, extension workers from Rwanda were dominating because the local extension workers are always absent.
He further revealed that the government of Uganda, through the Internal Security Organization (ISO), recently launched the ZAIDI Application, which will require GISOs to enter details of the extension workers to track non-performers. Nyakahuma also cautioned against recycling failed extension workers into different sub-counties, stating that once rejected from one sub-county, they will not be allowed to work in another. “We are not going to allow the recycling of rejects from one sub-county to another,” said Nyakahuma.
He added that this will help the government evaluate how much these extension workers have assisted farmers and lifted them out of poverty through government interventions and projects like Common Ground. “I ask the Sub County Chairpersons to ensure that these extension workers visit the farmers regularly because that’s why they are paid,” said Nyakahuma, adding that regular visits will lead to increased production in their areas.
Justine Onyinge, the Watershed Natural Resource Management Expert with the Common Ground Project, said that the purpose of engaging different stakeholders is to implement the project’s goals, especially the bottom-up approach for awareness visioning and action planning. He revealed that they are working with Kabale district stakeholders to initiate income-generating activities, maintain roads, dig trenches to control soil erosion, plant grass bands along steep slopes, and construct stone bands to restore sites.
Speaking to some leaders, including Joseph Baryamujura, the LC3 Chairperson for Buhara Sub County, they expressed optimism that collaboration between Kabale District and the Common Ground Project will elevate community roads to district roads, such as the Kigugo – Bugarama – Ntarabana Road. Baryamujura stated that improving this road will help transport their produce to the market and ease accessibility.
The stakeholders also mentioned that through the project’s guidance, communities have adopted sustainable farming practices and learned how to protect their land from erosion. As a result, their yields have increased, and they now have better access to markets.
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