Participation of Workers’ and Employers’ Organizations in Poverty Reduction Strategies in Uganda
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Date
2012
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Asian Social Science
Abstract
It is now over a decade since poverty reduction strategies were embraced by Uganda as a one of the
preconditions to reach the debt relief completion point associated with Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC)
initiative. Between 1997 and 2008, the Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP) was the overarching planning
framework for the country. The PEAP has been Uganda’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), guiding
policy formulation and program implementation. In 2007, a review of the PEAP was done culminating into the
National Development Plan (NDP), 2010/11 - 2014/15. It has been observed that while the PEAP was being
formulated and implemented, the participation of the civil society (including workers and employers
organisations) was limited to very few organizations, with no full-time engagement. This was founded on the
premise that policy formulation was a preserve of government and the social partners had no business in the
process of national planning. The engagement and participation of workers and employers began in 2002, when
PEAP was being reviewed. However, the engagement was weak because it had no clear institutional framework.
There was commendable participation during the recently concluded National Development Plan. In this article,
we used a qualitative case study mainly involving key in depth interviews and documentary analysis. The
participation of workers and employers’ organisations’ (Note 1) involvement in the poverty reduction strategies
since 1999 is presented in four parts. First, an overview of the socio economic development trends in Uganda is
outlined. Second, the concept of social dialogue is outlined. Third, the state of social dialogue in the country is
highlighted. Fourth, we analyse the social partners’ participation in the country’s national development planning
process.
Description
Keywords
Poverty reduction, Social dialogue, National development, Policy
Citation
Karyeija Kagambirwe, G., & Basheka, B. C. (2012). Participation of Workers’ and Employers’ Organizations in Poverty Reduction Strategies in Uganda.