Will citizens' forums check corruption?
Jan 06, 2010
THEY came in big numbers, with burning questions on how the funds in Paidha town council and Nebbi district had been spent. This marked the start of the community forums, which aim at enhancing the community fight against corruption. In the ‘dock’ were Paidha town clerk Silimani Jalwiny and othe
By Joshua Kato
THEY came in big numbers, with burning questions on how the funds in Paidha town council and Nebbi district had been spent. This marked the start of the community forums, which aim at enhancing the community fight against corruption. In the ‘dock’ were Paidha town clerk Silimani Jalwiny and other officials. They nervously answered questions thrown at them throughout the session.
How the Barazas work
Every six months, the office of the RDC is supposed to organise Barazas at villages or sub-counties such that residents demand accountability from their leaders, under a new setting called the Citizens Forum (sub-county bimeeza/barazas). President Yoweri Museveni fronted the idea to fight corruption in public offices.
“The forums will ensure that public officials and the community engage in constructive debates aimed at improving service delivery,†says Fred Omach, the finance state minister. The project is being piloted in Kumi, Nebbi, Bushenyi and Masaka districts. So far, forums have been held in Nebbi and Kumi districts.
Key areas to be monitored include health, roads and agriculture sectors, especially the NAADS programme.
Local leaders, NAADS coordinators, chief administrative officers and other officials, will be required to explain to their people how the funds are spent.
Empowering community
However, how will the community ‘fire’ the right questions without vital financial information?
David Nsubuga, the project manager, says the forums are being implemented in collaboration with the relevant ministries.
“The Ministry of Finance will provide information on financial releases per district and the activities to be undertaken. This information will be simplified into traceable indicators and where appropriate, the accountability sector will translate the information into local languages to ensure people at the grassroots are aware of the government’s programmes in their areas,†Nsubuga says.
People at the grassroots were mobilised into community monitors, teachers, parents, students, road users, health workers, patients and farmers. They will be trained on how to evaluate government performance and provide feedback. There are also measures to ensure the system is not abused. For example, to ensure quality reporting, a report card with indicators will be developed in consultation with the implementing partners and community monitors.
To strengthen the system further, the parliamentary local government accounts committee will start taking their sessions to the villages. The committee is already meeting district leaders in their home districts rather than at Parliament. The committee chairman, Abdul Katuntu, says going to the villages will help them interact with the masses, make on-spot visits and supervise projects.
Will it be effective?
Providing masses with financial information will certainly help reduce many bottlenecks. At the moment, ordinary citizens find problems demanding accountability from their leaders.
“We do not know how much money is sent to our district,†says Edward Ssekimuli of Masaka Municipality. Without such information, residents cannot effectively demand accountability.
Local government financial regulations require local governments to put information regarding projects undertaken on notice boards for public view. For instance, schools are required to pin up information on Universal Primary Education funds received and what they were used for. The same applies to Local Government Development Funds. At the national level, the Ministry of Finance announces in the media all quarterly financial disbursements to the districts.
However, these announcements could not reach the people at the grassroots since few of them have access to newspapers.
WHAT DO LEADERS SAY? Vincent Ssempijja, Masaka district chairman “The system will clear a lot of misconceptions about local government funding. “Many people think districts receive a lot of money but end up doing nothing. We shall get a chance to show the people that even with the little funds we get, we have been able to do something.â€
Josephine Kasya, Kanungu district chairperson “The initiative should not only be left at the sub-county level, it should also be moved to districts.
“We recently visited a local government in Kigali, which had this system. It had effective accountability,†she says.
Rashid Mwesigye, LC3 chairman Bubandi sub-county, Bundibugyo district “The system will give us chance to explain to our people how we use the funds. The money from the government comes with conditions but some of our people want us to divert it.â€
Geoffrey Ekanya, the former chairman of the parliamentary local government accounts committee. “This initiative should not only tackle issues at districts but also at the national level. An information centre should be set up at the sub-counties, where all budgetary documents, including the national budget, can be accessed. By having the national budget at the sub-county, people will make their leaders at the district and national level accountable.â€
THEY came in big numbers, with burning questions on how the funds in Paidha town council and Nebbi district had been spent. This marked the start of the community forums, which aim at enhancing the community fight against corruption. In the ‘dock’ were Paidha town clerk Silimani Jalwiny and other officials. They nervously answered questions thrown at them throughout the session.
How the Barazas work
Every six months, the office of the RDC is supposed to organise Barazas at villages or sub-counties such that residents demand accountability from their leaders, under a new setting called the Citizens Forum (sub-county bimeeza/barazas). President Yoweri Museveni fronted the idea to fight corruption in public offices.
“The forums will ensure that public officials and the community engage in constructive debates aimed at improving service delivery,†says Fred Omach, the finance state minister. The project is being piloted in Kumi, Nebbi, Bushenyi and Masaka districts. So far, forums have been held in Nebbi and Kumi districts.
Key areas to be monitored include health, roads and agriculture sectors, especially the NAADS programme.
Local leaders, NAADS coordinators, chief administrative officers and other officials, will be required to explain to their people how the funds are spent.
Empowering community
However, how will the community ‘fire’ the right questions without vital financial information?
David Nsubuga, the project manager, says the forums are being implemented in collaboration with the relevant ministries.
“The Ministry of Finance will provide information on financial releases per district and the activities to be undertaken. This information will be simplified into traceable indicators and where appropriate, the accountability sector will translate the information into local languages to ensure people at the grassroots are aware of the government’s programmes in their areas,†Nsubuga says.
People at the grassroots were mobilised into community monitors, teachers, parents, students, road users, health workers, patients and farmers. They will be trained on how to evaluate government performance and provide feedback. There are also measures to ensure the system is not abused. For example, to ensure quality reporting, a report card with indicators will be developed in consultation with the implementing partners and community monitors.
To strengthen the system further, the parliamentary local government accounts committee will start taking their sessions to the villages. The committee is already meeting district leaders in their home districts rather than at Parliament. The committee chairman, Abdul Katuntu, says going to the villages will help them interact with the masses, make on-spot visits and supervise projects.
Will it be effective?
Providing masses with financial information will certainly help reduce many bottlenecks. At the moment, ordinary citizens find problems demanding accountability from their leaders.
“We do not know how much money is sent to our district,†says Edward Ssekimuli of Masaka Municipality. Without such information, residents cannot effectively demand accountability.
Local government financial regulations require local governments to put information regarding projects undertaken on notice boards for public view. For instance, schools are required to pin up information on Universal Primary Education funds received and what they were used for. The same applies to Local Government Development Funds. At the national level, the Ministry of Finance announces in the media all quarterly financial disbursements to the districts.
However, these announcements could not reach the people at the grassroots since few of them have access to newspapers.
WHAT DO LEADERS SAY? Vincent Ssempijja, Masaka district chairman “The system will clear a lot of misconceptions about local government funding. “Many people think districts receive a lot of money but end up doing nothing. We shall get a chance to show the people that even with the little funds we get, we have been able to do something.â€
Josephine Kasya, Kanungu district chairperson “The initiative should not only be left at the sub-county level, it should also be moved to districts.
“We recently visited a local government in Kigali, which had this system. It had effective accountability,†she says.
Rashid Mwesigye, LC3 chairman Bubandi sub-county, Bundibugyo district “The system will give us chance to explain to our people how we use the funds. The money from the government comes with conditions but some of our people want us to divert it.â€
Geoffrey Ekanya, the former chairman of the parliamentary local government accounts committee. “This initiative should not only tackle issues at districts but also at the national level. An information centre should be set up at the sub-counties, where all budgetary documents, including the national budget, can be accessed. By having the national budget at the sub-county, people will make their leaders at the district and national level accountable.â€