By The National Resistance Movement (NRM) Secretary General, Rt. Hon. Richard Todwong, has urged local leaders to go beyond political mobilisation and actively spearhead economic transformation in their communities.
Speaking yesterday to over 200 NRM parish leaders from Namuwongo and Bukasa at the Labour College of East Africa in Namuwongo, Todwong challenged the grassroots leaders to be “catalysts of wealth creation” by tackling poverty and guiding residents toward sustainable livelihoods.
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“There is a difference between a leader, the people, and the problems they face. As leaders, your thinking must be different. You are the ones expected to guide the people out of poverty,” Todwong told the attentive gathering.
He highlighted the pressing socio-economic challenges faced by urban dwellers, particularly in informal settlements such as Namuwongo, and stressed the need for local leaders to offer practical solutions tailored to their communities.
Citing Namuwongo’s transformation from a notorious crime hub to a more secure area, Todwong attributed progress to improved leadership and policing but warned that the root causes of social issues remain unaddressed.
“All these crimes, domestic violence, land wrangles they are symptoms of a deeper issue. That issue is poverty,” he noted.
Todwong also underscored the importance of the NRM’s decentralized governance system, which he said was built to enable local leaders to understand and respond to grassroots needs more effectively.
He called on LC1 chairpersons and other parish-level officials to familiarize themselves with the economic activities in their jurisdictions and to design targeted interventions that uplift livelihoods.
The meeting formed part of a wider NRM initiative to retool local leadership with a renewed focus on service delivery, economic empowerment, and community mobilisation in urban settings.
