Decentralization
and Service Delivery (Uganda’s case study)
Objectives of
Decentralization in Uganda
Decentralisation in Uganda is designed to achieve the following:
o
Transfer real power
to districts and thus reduce the load of work on remote and under resourced
central officials.
o
Bring political and
administrative control over services to point where they are actually
delivered, thereby improving accountability and effectiveness, promoting
peoples feeling of ownership of programmes and projects executed in their
districts.
o
Free local managers
from central constraints and, as a long-term goal, allow them develop
organisational structures tailored to local circumstances.
Contributions
of decentralization process to SD
o Establishes a rational and
unified service delivery system at the District level.
o Promotes greater involvement
of communities, in turn lead to plans appropriate to local needs and
problems/priorities.
o Reduces duplication of
services and costs by relating responsibilities to a defined catchment
population.
o Reduces inequalities through
selective allocation of resources.
o Strengthens national policy
and planning by releasing ministry staff administrative and routine
responsibilities.
o Improves the implementation
of programmes by reducing centralised control over local administrative
matters.
o Encourages greater community
financing and control over local facilities and staff.
o Reduces problems and delays
caused by long distances and poor communication.
Rational for
Decentralization in Uganda
ü Decentralization was introduced for a number of
reasons, including the following:-
ü Enhance the contribution of the public, private
sector, civil society and community based organizations to national development
and modernization.
ü Improve the quality of service, policy formulation and
management of service delivery.
ü Make efficient and effective use of available
resources
ü Reduce the decision load by sharing it with more
people and allow more decision to be made “below” instead of concentrating them
at an “overburdened centre”.
ü Provide opportunities for local popular participation
and increased involvement of the people in decisions that directly affect them.
ü Promote local ownership and ensure sustainability of
projects and programmes
How
Service Delivery is or can be managed in decentralized system/LGs in Uganda
SD in decentralized systems of governance
are managed based on the decentralization powers of LGs which gives everyone
mandate to take part in the budgeting/ planning, allocations, implementation
and monitoring of the resources to ensure effective service delivery. Such
powers include;
ü Political
powers – Councils headed by politically elected leaders such
as Chair persons LC5, LC3, LC2and 1 and also district Councilors who make up
the district council and other political leaders including the president and
representatives on political councils.
ü Financial
powers – Councils right from village level collect and submit
priorities and plan for resources in their budgets which they formulate on
their own and submit them to the district council for approval and submitted to
the ministry for funding and they also take part in the allocation of such
funds right from the grass-root level.
ü Administrative
powers – Councils manage staff in their districts they work on
promotions of the staff, demotions and suspension among others in case services
are not delivered the way they are supposed to be. Therefore, the council
headed by the Chair person LC5 monitor performance of the staff at LG level.
ü Planning
powers – Councils make development plans for their areas and
communities participate in budget making process and their work plans are
integrated into a district development plan and their needs are met because it
is their elected leaders to approve their budgets.
ü Legislative
powers – Councils make bye-laws or ordinances which are
in-favor of people’s well being and effective service delivery.
ü Judicial
powers – Executive committees at the village and parish also
double as local council courts. At sub-county/town council there is also a
local council court.
Progress of
Decentralization
o There
is no question that the progress of our decentralization is reasonably
satisfactory and encouraging to all.
o Significant
progress has been made since 1995, when the new Constitution was launched, to
substantially devolve powers to Local Governments.
o The
Local Governments Act, the legislation supporting the decentralization process
is elaborate.
o Local
Governments now have broader powers to deliver basic services, plan, and
budget, make local laws and implement projects to modernize our communities.
o Progress
has also been made in developing regulations, manuals and guides for financial
management, planning, Local governments public accounts committees, internal
audit, book keeping, personnel management, legislation, records management and
information management Local Government (procurement and disposal of Assets)
Regulations).
o Local Governments now have a higher share of the
recurrent and development resources of our nation. Total transfers to Local
Governments since the financial year 1993/1994 of the fiscal year 2009/2010
have increased from Ug.Shs. 31 billion to Ug.Shs. 1.3 Trillion[i].
It is however also important to note that the
process and the shift to decentralisation have started losing meaning when it
comes to the question of Service Delivery. In many decentralised systems of
Governance like Uganda, it is still evident that the rates of service delivery are
still low irrespective of high levels of Decentralisation. Shift of power to
decentralised systems has evidently been only on paper due to the dilemma of
Politics in Administration and Management of all government and state systems
at all decentralised levels. In Uganda for example, Politicians are on top of Bureaucrats
who are technical and skilled to ensure efficiency and effectiveness in Service
delivery. The political influence has therefore been the only justification for
the rampant Corruption and misuse of office. Managers and Administrators of
Government entities are so much influenced by Politicians through defiant means
to apply favouritism and other forms of corruption. The only solution could
have been having an independent Civil service system where there is very less
or no political control when it comes to Management of Public resources. This
could be the solution to the commonly known definition of Politics by political
scholars as ‘’Who gets what, when and how’’.
Prepared
by
Julius
Byaruhanga
[i] Decentralisation and Service Delivery in Uganda. A presentation at a seminar organised by Public
Administration and Management Association- Uganda Christian University Presented by Patrick K.
Mutabwire
Commissioner Local Council Development 27th March 2010
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