Namayingo District has opened a new maternal and child health clinic in Buhemba Sub-county, financed almost entirely from the district's share of national mining royalties under the Mining and Minerals Act 2022. Local officials described it as the first fully royalty-funded piece of hard health infrastructure in the district, and one of the clearest examples yet of the revenue-sharing formula delivering visible community assets.
The Act reserves a defined percentage of mineral royalty payments for local governments and lawful landowners in the districts where extraction takes place. Namayingo, at the heart of Uganda's Lake Victoria Gold Belt, has one of the country's most active artisanal gold economies and correspondingly high royalty inflows.
The clinic offers antenatal care, safe delivery services and childhood immunisation, closing a gap that had previously forced expectant mothers to travel more than 20 kilometres for skilled care. District health officials said staffing and consumables budgets will be topped up from the same royalty stream, giving the facility a predictable operating footing.
The rollout matters beyond Namayingo. It shows that the revenue-sharing model, often dismissed as paper policy, can be operationalised at district level. UgandaMineralTrust will track whether other gold-belt districts, including neighbouring Busia, follow the same route from royalty receipts to functioning community infrastructure.