Humanities and the Arts

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Browsing Humanities and the Arts by Author "Initiative for Social and Economic Rights (ISER)"

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    An assessment of the role and effectiveness of Barazas in decision making processes
    (Initiative for Social and Economic Rights (ISER), 2018) Initiative for Social and Economic Rights (ISER)
    As part of its effort to strengthen accountability in public service delivery and improve on the performance monitoring of the Local Governments, the government of Uganda introduced Barazas1, following a presidential directive.2 The Barazas, which are managed by the Office of the Prime Minister and supported by the office of the Resident District Commissioner (RDC) at the district and lower levels, are also known as community information forums. They are accountability platforms through which local leaders and civil servants are required to inform the communities about government policies and programmes and thereby account for their performance, whilst also seeking for the views of the people. This initiative commenced in 2009 and has since been faced by praises and criticisms in both approach and effectiveness. In that light, the Initiative for Social and Economic Rights (ISER), undertook to assess the organization, popularity and effectiveness of Barazas and thereby launched a short study. The study was undertaken as part of the broader Social Accountability and Community Participation project and it involved the observation of four Barazas in the districts Adjumani3, Gulu4 , Amolatar5 and Bundibugyo. The Baraza creates a platform for technical officers to provide information about the status of service delivery to the citizens and in turn paving way for citizens to participate in the development cycle by monitoring the usage of public funds and other resources. In addition, it is a platform that is used to collect information from citizens; this is done by providing an opportunity to citizens to raise issues in concerning service delivery in their respective areas.