Citizens’ Engagement in Local Government Decision Making Processes: Towards public finance accountability, transparency, and improved service delivery in Uganda

Abstract

The decentralization system of government in Uganda offers local government the mandate to administratively extend social-economic services to the citizens. It also involves citizens in determining specific local public needs and channeling such needs to urgent priority areas. The core objective of decentralization in Uganda is largely to improve public service delivery by bringing services closer to communities and ensuring peoples’ participation and democratic control in social-economic and political decision-making. Thus, decentralization is presumed pivotal in global efforts for sustainable development by opening the democratic space though transparent, inclusive, and citizen-driven planning and implementation of services.