Uganda has been urged to embrace the local economic development model if rural communities are to undergo transformation and sustainable development.

Despite embracing decentralization about twenty years ago, development has remained a key challenge with many districts lagging behind amidst many service delivery challenges.

Uganda Local Government Association members in a training.

Lars Burema, the program manager at The Hague Academy for Local Governance, says that the local economic development model would transform many parts of Uganda considering the current state of affairs.

He was speaking to local government leaders and officials attending a meeting organized by the Uganda Local Government Association-ULGA at Hotel Africana.

Under the current decentralization system, most of the development decisions or plans are still made by the central government but according to Burema, the best approach is to have communities deciding their priorities and how to achieve their targets.