By Ben Musanje
Uganda’s Minister for ICT and National Guidance, Justine Kasule Lumumba, has said President Yoweri Museveni’s call for a “term of no sleep” must translate into tougher accountability, stronger service delivery and increased use of technology to fight corruption across government.
Speaking on NBS Television’s Frontline programme on August 20, 2026, during a discussion titled “Scandals Galore: What Do the Interdictions and Exposure Reveal About Government Agencies?”, Lumumba said the President had given ministers and other leaders a clear instruction to work harder and ensure government services reach citizens.
Lumumba said Museveni’s directive was particularly clear during the swearing-in of ministers on May 12, when he warned that officials who failed to perform could be dismissed.
“This is a term of no sleep. People must work,” Lumumba said, recalling the President’s message to newly appointed leaders.
She said the directive requires ministers not only to perform their duties at their ministries but also to monitor government service delivery in the communities where they come from.
According to Lumumba, the government’s renewed focus on performance is already being reflected in actions by some ministries, including the Ministries of Local Government and Works, but she warned that more interventions should be expected.
She said the public must also be able to see how government officials are fighting corruption in their respective sectors and communities.
Lumumba linked the renewed push for accountability to government monitoring and evaluation systems, noting that the Office of the Prime Minister coordinates government policies and monitors their implementation.
She said government has also conducted annual performance assessments of districts and evaluated programmes under the country’s development plan.
However, Lumumba acknowledged that government has previously faced coordination failures, including cases where completed projects were handed over to local governments but subsequently became “white elephants.”
She said the problem demonstrates that accountability cannot focus solely on financial resources.
“People also must account for their time in their offices,” she said, adding that proposals had been made to evaluate ministers based on both time and resources.
Technology as an anti-corruption tool
As Minister for ICT, Lumumba said her ministry has a particular role to play in helping government agencies use technology to prevent, detect and expose corruption.
She said the ministry would work with other government institutions to strengthen digital systems and make service delivery faster while reducing opportunities for corruption.
Lumumba pointed to the use of technology in services such as driving permit applications, where citizens can apply online with limited or no person-to-person interaction.
She argued that such systems demonstrate how digitalisation can reduce opportunities for corrupt practices by removing unnecessary human contact.
The minister also highlighted the potential of artificial intelligence to improve government services, giving agriculture as an example. She said AI-enabled applications could allow farmers to photograph crops or animals and receive information about possible problems and potential solutions.
But Lumumba acknowledged that having technology available does not automatically guarantee that it will be used effectively.
Responding to questions about the controversy surrounding the Kampala Northern Bypass tolling system, she said the technology to monitor collections was available but was allegedly not applied effectively.
She described this as “selective efficiency” and said individuals responsible for deliberately failing to implement available systems should be held accountable.
Lumumba said the contrast between efficient digital services and areas where technology is not being deployed effectively raises questions about institutional responsibility.
She maintained that the government’s current anti-corruption drive must therefore go beyond exposing scandals to addressing the systems and decisions that allow abuse to occur.
‘No corruption’
Lumumba said the President’s second major message to leaders was a “term of no corruption,” arguing that the directive applies across government institutions and levels of leadership.
She said ministers, Members of Parliament and local government leaders all have a responsibility to ensure that public resources and government programmes are properly managed.
She further said intelligence and monitoring reports from government institutions are increasingly informing ministers about what is happening on the ground.
For Lumumba, sustaining the current momentum will require continuous performance monitoring, stronger coordination between government agencies and greater use of digital technology.
She said the challenge for ministers is not simply to match the performance of their predecessors but to improve upon it.
“Technology also is improving,” she said, pointing to artificial intelligence and other emerging tools as opportunities for government to strengthen oversight and service delivery.
Lumumba’s remarks come amid increased public and parliamentary scrutiny of government agencies, with questions over corruption, service delivery and accountability putting pressure on officials to demonstrate measurable results.
She said the government’s new approach should ultimately ensure that the President’s “term of no sleep” becomes more than a political slogan by translating it into visible improvements in public service delivery and stronger action against corruption. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
