1. Beyond Compliance: A Performance Assessment of Statutory Boards and Commissions in Uganda’s Local Governments FY 2021/2022
- Author:
- Arthur Bainomugisha, Wilson Winstons Muhwezi, Walter Akena, Jonas Mbabazi, and Rebecca N. Mukwaya
- Publication Date:
- 01-2023
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE)
- Abstract:
- This report presents findings from the first assessment of Statutory Boards and Commissions comprising the District Service Commissions (DSC), District Land Boards (DLB), and LG Public Accounts Committees (LGPAC) in 26 District Local Governments. This cutting-edge Assessment was the first of its kind and provided a ground-breaking opportunity to examine these important structures designed to provide regulation, oversight and additional citizen representation and voice, within the ambit of Uganda’s Decentralisation Policy. The report offers interesting and intriguing insights into the operations of the Statutory Boards and Commissions which point to an urgent need to revitalise and strengthen them as critical pillars of Local Governance in Uganda. Uganda’s Decentralisation Policy devolved powers to the Local Governments. These powers rest on three key pillars, namely the Local Council (including the Executive), the Technical Staff and the Statutory Bodies. As such, Uganda’s Decentralisation Policy is both a political and a technical process. At the political level it involves leadership, participation, inclusion, representation, decision-making, and power relations between Central and Local Governments, and between Higher and Lower Local Governments. On the technical level, it involves administration, planning, budgeting, financial management, human resources management and development, monitoring and evaluation, supervision and mentoring. Thus, the success of Decentralisation is highly contingent on the careful and effective synchronization of political and technical elements and functions. At the commencement of the decentralisation policy, the government, through several legal instruments, created an elaborate institutional framework for support and oversight at the local government level. These institutions include the District Service Commission, District Land Board, Local Government Public Accounts Committees, and the District Tender Boards (now contracts committee) which later morphed into the District Contracts Committees (Mushemeza, 2019). The assessment of these statutory boards and commissions was underpinned by a series of ACODE’s scorecard findings that consistently revealed that the functionality of committees and statutory boards and commissions have a bearing on the general performance of district local government councils and subsequently the quality-of-service delivery in local governments. Furthermore, a number of studies indicated structural and operational gaps in the functionality of various accountability organs at the Local Government level1 . Given the importance of this tripartite relationship highlighted above, the functionality and strength of the Statutory Boards and Commissions is an important yardstick and litmus test for the overall functionality of a given Local Government. It is against this background that the assessment sought to examine the performance of the statutory boards and commissions. Specifically, the assessment sought to; (i) Explore the extent to which statutory boards and commissions have complied with their roles and responsibilities; (ii) Analyse how statutory boards and commissions are accountable to council and citizens; and (iii) Explore key issues impeding and or facilitating Statutory Boards and Commissions in delivering on their statutory roles and responsibilities and make appropriate recommendations. The assessment largely drew from the methodology of the Local Government Scorecard Assessment (Tumushabe, Mushemeza, Tamale, Lukwago, & Ssemakula, 2010). The assessment is further grounded in rigorous methodological approaches that adhere to scientific rigour. This assessment focused on FY 2021/2022 and was carried out in the 26 districts of Agago, Amuria, Amuru, Arua, Buliisa, Hoima, Gulu, Jinja, Kanungu, Kabarole, Kamuli, Lira, Luwero, Mbale, Mbarara, Moroto, Mpigi, Mukono, Nakapiripirit, Nebbi, Ntungamo, Rukungiri, Sheema, Soroti, Tororo and Wakiso. The overall finding of the Assessment was that the Statutory Boards and Commissions exist at the Local Government level and are attempting to discharge their duties and functions, in spite of the stiff challenges that their face. Notwithstanding their regulatory import and function, their role as an added citizen representation and voice, the Statutory Bodies were noted to have declining visibility and significance – across all the 26 districts assessed. Different Boards and Commissions in the different districts exhibit varying levels of resilience and functionality. Overall, there seemed to be a general “neglect” of the Statutory Bodies, across the Board.
- Topic:
- Regulation, Decentralization, Compliance, Assessment, and Local Government
- Political Geography:
- Uganda and Africa