Browsing by Author "Owor, Arthur"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Communication inside the LRA: Militarization of Acoli Language, a Cultural Patriotism or mere Rebel Indoctrination?
    (East African Nature and Science Organization, 2024-06-29) Ojok, James Onono; Abonga, Ajok Beatrice; Owor, Arthur
    In an ideal situation, there should be no positive effect of the LRA war in Northern Uganda, but what of the real testimonies that the LRA war brought in many development partners with school fees scholarships through institutions like Acoli Education Initiatives, Invisible Children, Windle Trust Uganda among others. But where are they going to pay for school, the northern children in ‘war affected areas’, and others up to universities, if it were not because of the devastating effect of the war on Education? This is still without the many successful grants and PhD projects completed within Uganda and around the globe based on LRA attachment to spirituality, transitional justice or interrogating the Acoli traditional justice system versus international laws. A debate can be constructed, if necessary, that the authorities on the LRA scholarships are from the global north -meaning the war pulled scholars from their comfort zones. Secondarily, what do we owe this to? For lack of a better word, other scholars would call it the ‘unintended’ positive effect of the war. This journal paper borrows the philosophy that if you are telling a story, it should be told up-side-down. Chimamanda Ngozi, the Nigerian writer, baptised it as a one-sided story and called it the danger of a single story (Adichie 2009). Schulz, Apio et al (2024) tell us about the ‘Love and Care in the LRA’, which this paper calls bravery, with all the horror stories of the LRA! This paper is grounded in some of these philosophies of Adichie (2009) and Schulz, Apio et al. (2024) of telling all sides of the story, attempting to reconstruct the LRA use of Acoli language throughout their military operations as a demonstration of Acoli cultural attachment, loyalty and depiction of Acoli cultural patriotism or activism argued by this paper. This was through using secondary data review and holding in-depth purposive interviews with four former LRA returnees plus two cultural chiefs, including extracting the archival journalistic records of the first author, who was an active journalist in northern Uganda for over 10 years between 2010 and 2021. This journal paper, however, does not underscore the pain and sufferings, the LRA brought on the people of Uganda and other neighbouring countries. However, this paper just gives an ontological side of the LRA, which is hard to find in terms of their particular role in promoting Acoli culture by using Acoli language as their military operational medium of communication
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Local Government Councils Performance and the Quality of Service Delivery in Uganda Nebbi District Council Scorecard 2008/09
    (ACODE Policy Research Series, 2010) Tamale, Lillian Muyomba; Owor, Arthur; Kumakech, James; Rupiny, Ronnie Robert
    In 1992, Uganda adopted a decentralization policy that sought to establish a system of governance underpinned by strong local governments. Subsequent constitutional and legal reforms established districts and sub-counties as key pillars of local governments through which effective service delivery and local governance is to be attained. Although decentralization has been pursued over the last two decades, there is widespread consensus that the performance of local governments is less than desirable. The revenue base of local governments has diminished substantially, rendering them heavily dependent on central government disbursements, mainly through conditional grants. The quality of service provision is less than desirable, as well, with key services such as health care, water, sanitation, education, and access to agricultural advisory services remaining dismal. Yet, there is no evidence that the citizens who are the intended beneficiaries of the decentralization system are demanding accountability and better performance from their elected leaders. Over the years, the Ugandan government has sought to improve the functioning of local governments through regular monitoring and inspection processes. However, these processes have not adequately focused on the local government councils, as the mandated executive and legislative organs of the local governments. This report is a product of an ongoing assessment of the performance of local government councils in Uganda that commenced in 2009, focusing on the financial year 2008/09. The assessment was designed as part of an initiative to regularly monitor the performance of local government councils in Uganda, and to publish and disseminate a local councils performance “score-card” as a means of increasing citizens’ demand for improved service delivery and accountability on the part of elected leaders. For the FY2008/09, similar assessments were undertaken in nine other districts including Amuria, Amuru, Hoima, Kampala, Kamuli, Luwero, Mbale, Moroto, and Ntugamo. The assessment focused on the local government councils and their respective organs as outlined in the Local Government Act and other legislation. The council as a corporate body, the chairperson, the speaker, and the councilors formed the units of analysis for the assessment.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Public Communication for Effective Service Delivery to Refugees in Uganda. The Case of Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement
    (East African Journal of Arts and Social Sciences, 2024) Ojok, James Onono; Owor, Arthur
    This study argues that Public Communication in Refugee Settlements, when managed professionally and structurally with a deliberate open feedback mechanism for the end-users of services provided by the government and its development partners, could be a great tool for the evaluation and enhancement of public services provided in Refugee Settlements. The study analyses the education and health sectors as parameters for the government’s service delivery in the case of the Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement. Taking a qualitative research methodology approach with the case of Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement, the study found that the Uganda Refugees Act (2006), which authorises service provision by the government to the refugees, has no specific public communication strategy or policy clearly spelled as a communication framework to support service provision feedback. Therefore, the study recommends a direct public engagement communication strategy involving refugees and relevant stakeholders in the public service provision with the ultimate goal of improving service delivery at Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement