Buganda Kingdom and Government ministers pose for a group photo after the event By Richard KintuThe Minister for the Presidency, Hon. Milly Babirye Babalanda, has hailed the Buganda Kingdom as a development-oriented institution committed not only to the welfare of its people but also to the development of Uganda as a whole.The Minister made the remarks on Tuesday during a high-level engagement between a delegation of central government officials and Buganda Kingdom ministers led by the Katikkiro, Charles Peter Mayiga, aimed at exploring ways of accelerating shared development priorities for the benefit of all citizens.According to Babalanda, the engagement was initiated by the Buganda Kingdom, which hosted a government delegation led by the Vice President, Jessica Alupo Epel. The Vice President was accompanied by several senior government officials, including the Minister for the Presidency, Hon. Milly Babirye Babalanda; the Minister for Kampala Capital City and Metropolitan Affairs, Hajjati Minsa Kabanda; and the Presidential Special Envoy on Buganda Affairs, Joseph Ssewava Mukasa, among others.The meeting sought to strengthen cooperation between the Buganda Kingdom and the central government. The leaders emphasized the need for the two institutions to anchor their cooperation on the National Resistance Movement’s (NRM) core principles of patriotism, Pan-Africanism, socio-economic transformation, and democracy.Minister Babalanda reiterated President Yoweri Museveni’s vision of ensuring that every Ugandan, including those in Buganda, attains prosperity through sustainable wealth creation.She also commended the Buganda Kingdom for its hospitality, noting that it has welcomed Ugandans from all parts of the country to settle, work, and contribute to the region’s development, making it a key pillar of Uganda’s socio-economic growth.Katikkiro Peter Mayiga welcomes Minister Babalanda to the function TuesdayHowever, she urged Ugandans to embrace and actively participate in government programmes, saying the renewed cooperation between the Kingdom and the central government should provide an opportunity to accelerate public participation in these initiatives.“From this engagement, it became clear that both the Government and the Buganda Kingdom share many values that will strengthen and guide our partnership. I wish to commend the Kabaka of Buganda for his deep passion for work and development, which explains why the Buganda Kingdom has established several development and poverty eradication initiatives, such as BUCADEF. This aligns well with President Museveni’s wealth creation agenda and programmes like the Parish Development Model (PDM), Emyooga, among others,” Babalanda said.The Minister thanked the Katikkiro for highlighting people-centred issues that require government attention.“I thank the Katikkiro for raising important issues that affect ordinary Ugandans. His concerns regarding public transport, corruption, health, agriculture and ICT are critical and demonstrate that the Kingdom is keenly aware of the challenges we collectively face as a nation,” she said.She welcomed the fact that, rather than merely criticising the central government, the Katikkiro proposed practical solutions to the challenges he highlighted.“We are encouraged by his solutions-oriented message, and we pledge to present these proposals to the President. The good thing is that these are issues the President has consistently been addressing throughout his leadership, although in this term he has placed particular emphasis on the fight against corruption,” the Minister added.The meeting also agreed on measures to deepen the partnership. As part of the follow-up engagements, Buganda Kingdom chiefs will pay a courtesy call on the President, while the government delegation will hold a separate meeting with Buganda royals, including princes and princesses, to explore additional areas of cooperation and shared development.Alupo: President Museveni Committed to Supporting Cultural LeadersDuring the meeting, Vice President Jessica Alupo, who led the government delegation, reaffirmed President Museveni’s commitment to supporting cultural leaders and institutions, describing them as key partners in the country’s socio-economic transformation agenda.Alupo revealed that after meeting Buganda Kingdom chiefs, the President also intends to convene a special meeting with all cultural leaders at the level of kings to discuss the country’s future and ways of advancing the NRM’s vision of empowering all Ugandans.She equally applauded the Buganda Kingdom for its hospitality, saying it has enabled Ugandans from different regions to settle in the central region and contribute to national development.Meanwhile, the Katikkiro emphasized the urgent need to intensify the fight against corruption, noting that the vice has undermined the implementation of government programmes that would otherwise have benefited Ugandans.He expressed concern that corruption has weakened the supervision of government programmes by allowing incompetent individuals to occupy critical public service positions that they are unable to manage effectively.According to the Katikkiro, these inefficiencies have resulted in the loss of public funds, thereby slowing the country’s much-needed socio-economic transformation. 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