Why Uganda should utilise local governments

Jun 09, 2016

Effective local governments will help the country leap to higher achievements in global goals.

By Rebecca Mukwaya

In 2000, Uganda was one of the 189 countries that adopted the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) with the aim of realising specific levels of growth by 2015 using agreed health, economic and education parameters.

However, by the close of the decade, the country had not realised many of the set targets.

According to Uganda's MDG 2015 report by UNDP, the country had only attained 33%of the targets, particularly in gender equality and empowering women, reducing child mortality, ensuring environmental sustainability and developing a global partnership for development. The areas which had very low levels of attainment were Universal Primary Education, maternal health and HIV/AIDS.

Uganda, alongside other countries, adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), building on the MDGs to usher her into the next decade. The UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has 17 Global goals and 169 parameters that aim at transforming the world.

Given the performance regarding the MDGs, what can Uganda do to ensure that the next decade does not pass us by without being counted as achievers? The answer lies in leveraging the benefits of decentralisation, a stage where service delivery dynamics play out.

The decentralisation policy was enacted in 1997 through which specific political, fiscal and administrative functions, powers and delivery of services were devolved to local governments. The policy's six objectives sought to enhance citizen participation and democratic control, good governance, devolution and improvement of capacities with the assumption that services would reach the grassroots.

Since service delivery was transferred to lower levels, effective local governments will help the country leap to higher achievements in global goals. How can this be done? Local governments can help deliver services to communities through private public partnerships and increased funding for the services sector. They should also ensure food security through a community food security approach, thus addressing the food system, economic opportunities and community development.

Through local governments, we can engender all programming and ensure that there is gender equality and equity. In order to deal with issues of climate change, local governments need to design policies that favour their communities.

However, for this to be effected, there has to be deliberate government effort shown in setting district goals. The Government may also use known district baselines, provision of a framework through which attainment of these goals can be monitored at the local government level as well as  enabling citizens to engage in governance of their areas of locality.

Nevertheless, decentralisation in Uganda has had a fair share of its problems ranging from administrative to financial. In spite of this, it is possible that Uganda can even make bigger strides, not only in attaining the agreed goals but also transforming the country further and faster by tapping into the unexploited potential of local governments. For this to happen, however, there is need for structural and fiscal adjustments in the existing local governments.

 For the last seven years, the Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE) has been carrying out assessments of local government councils.

The last assessment 2014/2015 under the theme ‘Unlocking Potentials and Amplifying Voices' provides baseline figures on service delivery and the performance of the political staff at Local Government for 26 districts throughout Uganda. Major recommendations to this effect would include the need to broaden and deepen citizen engagement with local government, additional support to councillors representing women, youth and people with disabilities, enhancing capacity for local revenue generation and increase financing for local governments.

If this approach is taken, I believe that this will help the country reach the set targets in time as well as create tangible development in both rural and urban local governments.

The writer is a research intern with the Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment

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