Browsing by Author "Tamale, Lillian Muyomba"

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    Holding Governments Accountable for Service Delivery: The Local Government Councils Scorecard Initiative in Uganda
    (Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance, 2017) Tamale, Lillian Muyomba; Cunningham, Kiran
    Uganda’s Local Government Councils Scorecard Initiative is a strategic social accountability initiative designed to enable citizens to demand excellence of their local governments and enable local governments to respond to citizen demands for effective and efficient service delivery. Begun in 2009, it is one of the signature programmes of Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE), a public policy research and advocacy think tank in Uganda. The initiative is implemented in partnership with the Uganda Local Governments Association. The centrepiece of the initiative is the local government council scorecard, a capacity-building tool for assessing the performance of district-level elected officials in accordance with roles and responsibilities set out in the Uganda’s Local Government Act 1997 (as amended). Incorporating multiple links in the supply and demand chain of good governance and accountability – citizens, civil society organisations, local government and central government – the administration of the scorecard and dissemination of performance results is grounded in an action research methodology. Follow the positive reception of the initiative after eight years of implementation in Uganda, it is hoped that other countries will look to adapt this methodology to engage in similar types of social accountability initiatives.
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    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.
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    Monitoring and Assessing the Performance of Local Government Councils in Uganda:Background, Methodology and Score Card
    (ACODE Policy Research Series, 2010) Tumushabe, Godber; Mushemeza, Elijah Dickens; Tamale, Lillian Muyomba; Lukwago, Daniel; Ssemakula, Eugene
    "The objective of this paper is to provide general background information and analysis upon which comprehensive monitoring of local councils is conceptualized and undertaken. The paper is based on a comprehensive review of existing literature on monitoring the performance of local governments in Uganda and elsewhere. The elements of the monitoring framework articulated in this background paper were tested through limited fieldwork to target districts including Kamuli, Mbale, Mbarara, Hoima and Bushenyi. An expert task group comprised of practitioners and local government officials reviewed and provided input into the methodology and score card through a series of meetings. The local council’s institutional architecture and, the political, legislative and service delivery mandates of district councilors and local council organs were identified as pillars around which performance and monitoring indicators or the local government councils score cards are developed. The paper is divided into 4 broad sections addressing three main objectives. Section 2 after this introduction presents an overview of the state of knowledge and practices on monitoring the performance of local governments. Section 3 examines the functions of local government organs, identifies major themes and establishes appropriate parameters around which monitoring indicators are developed. Section 4 outlines a methodology and the set of indicators that can be used in monitoring the performance of district local councils. Section 5 contains our conclusions and recommendations."