Rubirizi District in Western Uganda has experienced substantial decentralization reforms over the past decade aimed at empowering local governments to better deliver services through transfer of functions, funds and staffing. However, studies and internal assessments continue to demonstrate generally low levels of staff performance across key technical departments within Rubirizi Local Government inhibiting achievement of set targets and citizens' service satisfaction. Against this backdrop, this study sought to investigate the deep-rooted systemic challenges impeding optimal utilization of decentralization through in-depth analysis of workplans, reports and stakeholder perspectives. A mixed methods approach incorporating review of government documents and records, key informant interviews, focus group discussions as well as staff and community surveys were employed. Findings revealed that limited financial resources, lack of modern equipment and infrastructure, inadequate continuous training and entrenched bureaucratic processes collectively undermine decentralization gains despite reforms. Specifically, only approximately 30% of annual departmental targets are achieved while citizen satisfaction lags at around 40%. From the findings, there existed a strong positive correlation of 0.762 at a highly significant level of 0.01 or 1% between the two variables, with decentralization shown to have a Pearson correlation coefficient of 1 when correlated with itself as the same variable and staff performance demonstrated to have a Pearson correlation of 0.762 when correlated with decentralization. The research provides vital empirical and contextual insight into the multifaceted constraints decentralization faces at the local level. It recommends comprehensive, well-coordinated interventions integrating financial, material, human and institutional strengthening across sectors to bolster staff competencies, working conditions and accountability systems.