- Only one-quarter (25%) of Ugandans say district councillors “often” or “always” do their best to listen to what ordinary people have to say. This figure has dropped from 32% in 2017 (Figure 1). o Members of Parliament fare even worse: Only 15% of respondents say MPs try to listen to their constituents, down from 21% in 2017.
- In 2021, more than three-quarters (79%) of respondents said that politicians and political party leaders are most concerned with advancing their own political ambitions rather than serving the people, up from 72% in 2015 (Figure 2).
- Health (62%), education (36%), infrastructure/roads (34%), and water supply (26%) top the list of problems that Ugandans say their government must address (Figure 3). Delivery of high-quality public services has consistently ranked high among citizens’ development priorities.
A growing number of Ugandans say their elected representatives don’t listen and are more interested in serving their own political ambitions than in serving the people, Afrobarometer survey findings show.
Only small minorities of citizens think that members of Parliament (MPs) and local district councillors try their best to listen to what ordinary citizens have to say, and both assessments have worsened since 2017.
Moreover, a growing majority of respondents say that politicians and political party leaders are most concerned with advancing their own ambitions rather than serving the people.
When Ugandans are asked what they consider the most important problems that the government should address, delivery of high-quality public services – including health, education, and water supply – continues to dominate their development priorities.