NRU :: Browsing by Author "Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit"

Browsing by Author "Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit"

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Access to education by children with special needs: What are the issues?
(Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit, 2019) Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 calls for “inclusive and quality education for all”. This is in line with Article 30 and 34 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda (1995) which states that education for all children is a right. Uganda has enacted several disability-friendly laws, which include the: National Council on Disability Act 2003 (with additional amendments 2013); 2006 Disability Act; 2006 Equal Opportunities Commission Act 2006; 1997 Local Government Act, and the 1996 Children’s Statute 1996 (with amendments in 2016). A number of policies and policy guidelines such as the National Policy on Disability in Uganda (2006) also support interventions for persons with disabilities. An Information Paper from UNESCO (2018) however reveals that persons with disability are among the population groups most likely to suffer from exclusion from education. The policy brief explores the challenges constraining access to education by children with Special Needs (SN), and highlights good practices. The brief uses primary data collected by the Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit, secondary data, and proposes policy recommendations for improvement.
Access to Health Care Services. Experiences of Persons Living with Disabilities in Eastern and Northern Uganda
(Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit, 2019) Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit
Over the last two decades, the Government of Uganda (GoU) has increased access to health services through various programmes and projects including investment in health infrastructure, medicines and other health supplies; and human resource development. Despite the investments, the desired universal health coverage is far from attainment as some sections of the population (persons with disabilities and or clients with special conditions) fail to have easy access to basic health care services. Article 25 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with disabilities (CRPD) states that Parties recognize that persons with disabilities have the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health without discrimination on the basis of disability. It also states Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure access for persons with disabilities to health services that are gender-sensitive, including health-related rehabilitation. This briefing paper presents the experiences of persons living with disabilities while seeking health care from selected Health Center IVs (Mungula,Yumbe, Aboke, Kiyunga, Budondo, Busesa, Midigo) in Eastern and Northern Uganda. The issues identified in this paper are a proxy of the status of service delivery at all levels of care thus the proposed recommendations are aimed at addressing overall sector service delivery challenges.
Are Agricultural Sector Institutions in Uganda Complying or Flaunting the Public Financial Management Laws and Regulations?
(Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit, 2019) Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit
Public Financial Management (PFM) refers to the set of laws, rules, systems and processes used by Governments to mobilize revenue, allocate public funds, undertake public spending, account for funds and audit results. Sound PFM ensures aggregate fiscal discipline; efficient allocation of public resources to agreed strategic priorities; accountability and value for money; and effective delivery of public services (Lawson, 2015; World Bank, 2005). The Government of Uganda has prioritized implementation of PFM reforms since the 1980s to achieve three key outcomes: fiscal discipline, strategic resource allocation, and efficiency in service delivery. Among the prominent recent reforms are: enactment of the PFM Act (2015), automation of financial management systems, Treasury Single Account (TSA), decentralization of payroll and pension management, Programme Based Budgeting, plus budget and public procurement reforms.This policy brief analyses the extent to which the agriculture sector institutions comply with the PFM Act (2015); the Budget Call Circulars (BCCs) and Budget Execution Circulars (BECs) issued by the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (MFPED). Analysis is for the period FY 2015/16 – 2018/19 using primary and secondary data collected by the Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit (BMAU).
Are the Public Financial Management E-Systems Performing?
(Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit, 2019) Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit
Public Financial Management (PFM) refers to the rules, regulations, tools, institutions, and instruments government uses to manage public resources. Well-designed PFM institutions support economic policy objectives, lead to inclusive growth and the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Furthermore, good PFM eliminates wastage in allocation of resources, increases ability to mobilize resources and achieves greater impact on service delivery (www.IMF.org/moocs ). The Government of Uganda (GoU) has demonstrated commitment towards E-Government, through investments in the National Information Technology Authority-Uganda (NITA-U) and Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). Strides are being undertaken to ensure connectivity for all through the national backbone transmission infrastructure, which seeks to connect the entire country to an optical fiber cable. Funding through the budget is extended to the MDAs and Local Governments (LGs) to develop E-Systems to enhance public financial management and efficient service delivery. Under the supervision of the Ministry of Information, Communications Technology and National Guidance, and NITA-U, government continues to make effort to improve service delivery through E-Government. The institutions under the Accountability Sector have developed a raft of E-Systems to drive PFM in Uganda. This policy brief discusses the performance and effects of five E- systems under the Accountability Sector, namely: Programme Based Budgeting System (PBS), Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS), E-Tax System, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System and E-Government Procurement (E-GP).
Business, Technical and Vocational Training: Are the objectives being met?
(Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit, 2019) Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit
The core aim of the Business, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (BTVET) is to promote an integrated, demand driven and competent based modular system. Learners enter the system at various points suited to their skills and needs, with their qualifications certified and recognised at different levels. The sub-sector comprises of a total of 163 public and private training institutions as well asfirm-based training programmes. The Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) through its BTVET Function and the Directorate of Industrial Training (DIT) provides policy direction, sets skills development standards, coordinates, monitors and regulates curriculum development, licences training institutions, and provides certification and accreditation. Despite heavy and consistent financial and infrastructural investment in the sub-sector, BTVET has five major challenges. These include; relevance to economic growth, quality of skills provision, access and equity, organizational effectiveness, plus financial and internal efficiency. This policy brief explores the different investments that have been made in the sub-sector, the current trends, persistent challenges, and proposes policy recommendations.
Can Uganda achieve SDG 6 on Water and Sanitation?
(Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit, 2019) Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit
During the 2015 United Nations Sustainable Development Summit, Uganda and 192 other United Nations (UN) member states unanimously agreed to the new global development framework: ‘Transforming our world - the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This Agenda is a plan of action for people, the planet and prosperity. Resolutions were made to “end poverty in all its forms”, to take bold and transformative steps to “shift the world on to a sustainable and resilient path” and to ensure that “no one will be left behind”. The 2030 Agenda established 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 global targets, relating to development outcomes and means of implementation, for the period 2015-2030. Each UN member state is expected to localize the global targets by designing a development agenda and policies that will accelerate the achievement of the SDGs by 2030. The existing national frameworks for implementing the SDGs in Uganda are: Vision 2040, second National Development Plan (NDP II), and Sector Development Plans among others.The SDG 6 - Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all, reflects the increased attention on water and sanitation issues in the global political agenda. The 2030 Agenda lists rising inequalities, natural resource depletion, environmental degradation and climate change among the greatest challenges of our time. It recognizes that social development and economic prosperity depend on the sustainable management of freshwater resources and ecosystems and it highlights the integrated nature of SDGs. This policy brief reviews the performance of some indicators of the water and sanitation sub-sector by end of June 2018 in reference to SDG 6.
Commercial uptake of research: Have the Innovation Fund supported projects delivered?
(Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit, 2019) Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit
The Government of Uganda (GoU) through the Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) policy (2009) recognizes that innovations are critical for socio-economic growth and transformation. The Second National Development Plan (NDPII) and Vision 2040 envision ‘A Transformed Ugandan Society from a Peasant to a Modern and Prosperous Country within 30 years’. This transformation majorly hinges on elevating Uganda from an agricultural to an industrial economy. Innovations result in the creation of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as development of already established industries. Government through Vision 2040 is focusing on providing incentives to increase the size of productive labour by increasing research and development activities and the utilization of research and innovation products. Research and innovation are necessary for a strong and competitive industrial base to create employment and ensure a resilient economy. The Government has been supporting scientists through initiatives like Presidential Support to Scientists, Innovation Fund, and Research Fund to academic institutions among others. This policy brief discusses the status of ongoing Innovation Fund supported projects with regard to commercialization. It also offers policy recommendations to transit from innovation to commercialization of STI projects.
Development Projects under the Education Sector: How are they performing?
(Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit, 2019) Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit
Over the second National Development Plan (NDP II) period, the Education Sector’s targets are: to increase the completion rate of Primary 7 from 70.3% in 2012/13 to 85% in 2019/20; the transition rate to secondary from 73% in 2013/14 to 83% in 2019/20; and net secondary completion rate from about 36% in 2012/13 to 50% in 2019/20. The focus has been on massive skills training programmes and increased participation in tertiary and higher education. In order to achieve this, the sector has undertaken a number of development interventions. The current Public Investment Plan (PIP) sets out the planned investment decisions that the Government of Uganda (GoU) plans to realize over the medium term (Financial Year (FY) 2017/18 – 2019/20). It also provides an overview of the profiles. This policy brief analyses the current development interventions for the PIP period using primary and secondary data collected by the Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit (BMAU) to assess which projects, are either achieving or not the planned development targets.
Domestic arrears in Public Universities: What are the drivers and effects?
(Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit, 2019) Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit
Domestic arrears refer to the aggregate value of unpaid bills for goods, services and works rendered to an institution, at the closure of a Financial Year (FY). Domestic arrears in universities usually comprise of court awards and compensations, gratuity and pension, taxes and other deductions, and wage related arrears for both teaching and non-teaching staff. Operational challenges in the universities have resulted in the accumulation of domestic arrears. Despite measures put in place by the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (MFPED), arrears have continued to accumulate. This has affected the smooth running of the institutions and the quality of education as demonstrated by the World University rankings, (2019) which indicated that no Ugandan university was among the top 500 universities in the world. This policy brief highlights the key drivers in accumulation of domestic arrears, and the interventions undertaken to address the problem. In addition, it reviews the impact of arrears on service delivery and provides policy recommendations.
Effectiveness of Disaster Management and Disaster Risk Reduction in Uganda. What are the challenges?
(Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit, 2019) Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit
The Government of Uganda (GoU) through the Second National Development Plan (NDP II) 2015/16 – 2019/20 prioritized reduction on the impact of natural disasters and emergencies though the following interventions:  Developing a disaster risk profile and vulnerability map of the country.  Coordinating the development and implementation of disaster mitigation and preparedness plans in all local governments (LGs).  Coordinating regular disaster vulnerability assessments at community level, hazard forecasting and dissemination of early warning messages.  Resettling landless communities and victims of disasters.  Coordinating timely responses to disasters and emergencies, and providing food and non-food relief to disaster victims.  Coordinating other state and non-state actors in fulfilling their mandates towards disaster issues. Disaster Management is defined as the organization and management of resources and responsibilities for dealing with all humanitarian aspects of emergencies, in particular preparedness, response and recovery in order to lessen the impact of disasters. Disaster risk reduction on the other hand is a systematic approach to identifying, assessing and reducing the risks of disaster. This policy brief examines the effectiveness of disaster management and disaster risk reduction, the challenges.
Financing Local Governments: Exploiting the potential of local revenue
(Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit, 2019) Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit
Over the years, the inadequacy of locally generated revenue has remained a major challenge for Local Governments (LGs). Besides the generally slow growth in revenues, the real value has been declining especially since financial year (FY) 2004/05 when Graduated Tax was suspended. As a result, the contribution of locally generated revenues has declined significantly. This has led to dominance of Central Government (CG) transfers for financing. However, these are largely conditional, thus eroding the fiscal discretionary power of LGs. There is an increasing inability of LGs to finance operation and maintenance of their investments in the wake of reducing local revenues. Therefore, LGs do not have the flexibility to exercise discretion in spending especially on the maintenance of the infrastructure stock. As a result, the focus has been more on minor repairs leading to a backlog of rehabilitation and reconstruction which is partly the cause of breakdown of public infrastructure investments like boreholes, bridges, and roads. In an attempt to compensate this shortfall, Government introduced two new sources of revenue: The Local Government Hotel Tax (LGHT) and the Local Services Tax (LST). The two newly introduced taxes have been unable to fully compensate for Graduated Tax leaving a financing gap. The Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit field findings indicate that the local revenue collected across most LGs cannot even cover the sitting allowances for councilors in a FY. Financing for LGs therefore remains among the most critical policy issues in LG administration in Uganda. Owing to the development responsibilities placed on LGs, there is need for adequate financing. This policy brief, explores what can be done to improve local revenue collections.
Gender Responsiveness in the Transport Sector
(Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit, 2019) Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit
The 2030 Agenda (Sustainable Development Goals) highlights gender equality and empowerment of women and girls (Goal number five) as one of the issues to be addressed in pursuit of sustainable inclusive growth and development across the globe. The Agenda was adopted in September 2015 at the United Nations Summit and Uganda was signatory, hence, gender and equity budgeting is a key strategy to the realization of the global prerequisite of leaving no community, economy or country, behind. Budgeting is a tool through which policies, programmes and development strategies of government are translated into public service delivery. The budget needs to be allocated and utilized to deliver public services equally to all segments of the population. Particular focus is on the disadvantaged groups such as women, persons with disabilities (PWDs), ethnic minorities, the chronically poor, the older persons, youth, orphans and other vulnerable children (OVCs), as well as people living in rural areas and disadvantaged regions, including hard-to-reach and hard-to-stay places such as islands. To ensure compliance to the gender and equity requirements, the Budget Framework Papers (BFPs) and Ministerial Policy Statements (MPSs) are assessed by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) using a pre-defined scoring criteria. A pass mark of 50% was set by Parliament to qualify for the Gender and Equity Certificate which is issued by the Minister responsible for Finance, in consultation with the EOC (Section 13(15) of the PFMA. This policy brief gives key highlights on the level of compliance of the BFPs and MPSs for ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) in the Works and Transport Sector over the last three financial years. The brief also explores the current gender and equity issues in the sector, and makes recommendations.
How are Land Related Challenges Affecting Service Delivery in Uganda?
(Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit, 2019) Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit
Uganda aims at attaining middle income status through strengthening mechanisms for quality, effective and efficient service delivery. Evidence from monitoring work undertaken by the Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit (BMAU) in Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (MFPED) has repeatedly highlighted land related challenges as a critical impediment to effective and efficient service delivery in key sectors of Government. Service delivery is considered effective when intended outputs and outcomes are achieved as per the plan; and efficient if implementation is on schedule and within budget. This policy brief analyses the various dimensions of this problem and its effects on delivery of public services in Uganda for five financial years (2014/15-2018/19) in the affected sectors. Both primary and secondary data sources are used.
How can the increasing water demands be met within existing public financial resources?
(Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit, 2019) Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit
The Second National Development Plan (NDP II) 2015-2020, identifies the provision of adequate water supply and improved sanitation as one of the key priority areas for promoting sustainable wealth creation and inclusive growth. Water is a central issue in Uganda that is increasingly getting urbanised with a rising population to serve. Every year, water consumption and need rise both in amount and per capita demand. A number of new water facilities like solar pumped systems have been set up to serve more people than the point water sources such as boreholes. However, access to safe water services is still a challenge. There exists a number of water financing systems, some are working well, while others are performing poorly, due to a number of reasons. This policy brief highlights: i) the main drivers for increased water demand, ii) assesses whether the available cash flows are sufficient and effectively utilised, and iii) explores options for maximising use of the existing financial flows.
How can the performance of the Electricity Sub-sector be enhanced?
(Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit, 2019) Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit
Electricity remains critical for Uganda to attain the growth trajectory and socio-economic transformation of her fast growing population. However, the overall rate of access to electricity in Uganda remains low (about 19% overall and about 8% in rural areas), while just over 3.2% of the total population has access to modern cooking fuels. The limited access to and cost of electricity has affected delivery of social services, constrained the development of small-scale industrial and commercial enterprises and disillusioned larger-scale industrial and commercial investment in the country. The Government of Uganda (GoU) has laid out a target of increasing access to electricity to 80% by 2040 under Vision 2040. The strategic actions listed in the second National Development Plan (NDP II) are to: (I) improve the power generation capacity through commissioning of an additional 3500MW of power generating capacity by 2015;(ii) expand the power grid and improve the electricity transmission and distribution infrastructure through carrying out additional investments in the transmission and distribution networks of the country; and (iii) increasing access and usage of electricity by investing in least cost power generation, promotion of renewable energy and energy efficiency in addition to the associated transmission and distribution infrastructure. Despite Government’s increased funding to the electricity sub-sector, the targets arising out of the above strategic actions in the NDP II have not been met. This is due to a combination several factors that have negatively impacted on the performance of the sector. These factors are discussed in this policy brief and several recommendations put forward.
How is the Rural Industrial Development Project performing?
(Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit, 2019) Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit
A strong and competitive industrial sector is important to create employment, advance technology and create a resilient economy. As one of the initiatives to achieve industrialization, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives (MoTIC) is implementing a five-year Rural Industrial Development Project, a successor to the One Village One Product project that ended in FY 2016/17. The overall objective of the project is enhancing access to value addition and collective marketing infrastructure for improved competitiveness and productivity of rural enterprises. The RIDP aims at promoting value addition to agricultural products at different levels of the commodity value chain that include drying, storage, preservation, packaging, processing and certification. This will be achieved through promotion of production and industrial processing clusters. These include operators of the storage facilities, suppliers of raw materials for processing, value addition enterprises, manufacturers and distributors of value addition equipment and providers of business development services. The success of the project will be evaluated basing on the degree of realization of the targeted outputs and outcomes for which it is designed. This policy brief assesses the effectiveness of the Industrial and Technological Development Programme with specific focus on the Rural Industrial Development Project. It identifies implementation challenges and proposes policy recommendations.
Implementation of Annual Budget Performance Contracts and Annual Performance Agreements in the Local Governments: What are the key issues?
(Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit, 2019) Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit
The Government of Uganda (GoU) introduced a Performance Management Framework aimed at enhancing results oriented management within the Public Service. The main thrust is to empower Accounting Officers to make effective decisions on resources to achieve specified results, and ensure delivery of high quality services and ultimately build confidence and trust. The framework adopted two instruments; Annual Performance Agreements (APA), and Annual Budget Performance Contracts (ABPC). Performance management in Uganda’s Public Service is results-based, aimed at ensuring that organizations and individuals contribute to improved service delivery and the attainment of national development objectives. The key elements of results oriented management are setting output targets, performance indicators, monitoring and evaluation as well as rewards/sanctions. According to the Local Government Performance Assessment, Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit (BMAU), Ministry of Local Government reports, and the National Delivery Survey Results, 2015 both instruments have not yet delivered the desired performance enhancement, accountability and improvement in service delivery. The reports highlighted several weaknesses thatincluded ineffective implementation of a number of public service reforms, corruption, poor work environment, low motivation and remuneration, and low adoption of ICT. The focus of this policy brief is on implementation of the two instruments as public service reforms by the Accounting Officers in Local Governments. It also gives key issues and recommendations.
Is the water and Environment Sector in position to achieve the NDPII Sector Outcome Targets?
(Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit, 2019) Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit
The Government of Uganda’s Second National Development Plan, 2015/16-2019/20 (NDP II) identifies the provision of adequate water supply and improved sanitation as one of the key priority areas for promoting sustainable wealth creation and inclusive growth. This was reinforced by the adoption of the outcomes and related indicators as a means of measuring performance. The sector identified specific priorities to achieve the three specific outcomes for effective service delivery. These are:(i) Increased access to safe water and sanitation facilities for rural, urban, and water for production uses; (ii) Increased availability of good quality and adequate water resources to support socio-economic transformation; and (iii) Improved weather, climate and climate change management protection and restoration of environment and natural resources. This policy brief highlights the sector performance vis-a-vis the NDP II targets, issues affecting achievement of outcomes, and suggests recommendations.
Maintenance of National Roads: What are the key challenges?
(Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit, 2019) Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit
Uganda has a total road network of 146,000Km of which 21,544km (14.8%) are national roads. These are under the management of Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA). Of these, 4,551Km (22.2%) are paved, while 16,003Km (77.8%) are unpaved. National roads host more than 80% of the average daily road traffic on the Ugandan road network and are a strong driver for social-economic development. To sustain this development and realize long term benefits, it is essential that national roads are adequately maintained. The Government of Uganda (GoU) has made deliberate efforts to ensure that roads are maintained. In 2010, GoU established the Uganda Road Fund (URF), with an overall purpose of ensuring that all public roads are maintained at all times through the provision of adequate and stable financing to implementing agencies. Maintenance of national roads is funded through the National Roads Maintenance Programme (NRM) which is implemented by UNRA using both Force Account and contracting. UNRA has recorded some achievements, but under a constrained environment. This policy brief presents the implementation gaps in the maintenance of national roads using force account and contracting, and highlights recommendations.
The National Backbone Infrastructure: Is the country reaping investment dividends?
(Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit, 2019) Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit
The National Data Transmission Backbone Infrastructure and e-Government Infrastructure (NBI/EGI) is a Government of Uganda (GoU) Initiative implemented by the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector through the National Information Technology Authority (NITA-U). Implementation started from FY 2006/07 –FY 2015/16. It aimed at connecting ministries and Government departments onto the e-Government Network. This was done to create an efficient government through simplifying procedures, bringing transparency, accountability and making timely information available to citizens. The objectives of the project were to: establish a secure NBI with high bandwidth data connection in major towns of Uganda; connect all Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in a single wide area network; establish a government data centre, and establish district information centres. Implementation was initially arranged in three phases that ended FY 2015/16. The fourth phase of implementation is ongoing (FY 2016/17-21/22) as part of the Regional Communication Infrastructure Programme (RCIP), largely covering the missing links and last mile connectivity. The expected outputs at completion of the first three phases were: All government ministries connected; e-government implemented; an optic fiber backbone transmission cable set up across the country (2,294km); district information centres established to improve communication, improved service delivery by MDAs, and reduced cost of communications. This policy brief presents the extent to which GoU has reaped from the investment and proposes options for increasing the benefits.

Browsing by Author "Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit"

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