USAID / Uganda - Success Stories

When Uganda embarked on its ambitious decentralization path in the early 1990s, the country had just emerged from a series of brutal dictatorial regimes and civil wars and all structures related to local governance had been destroyed. Neither officials nor citizens had any experience of participation in decision making. The country had experimented with a decentralized system of local governance in the early 1960s but it was soon abolished.

Nonetheless Uganda was determined to build a new democratic and decentralized system of governance. Authority and responsibility to plan, budget, and deliver services were devolved to districts and their sub-units. Implementation of the decentralized system of governance progressed rapidly and the amount of financial resources expended by local governments increased rapidly from an initial figure of Shs. 63 billion (FY 1994/95) to the present figure of Shs. 476 billion (FY 2000/01). The number of districts also grew from 39 at the start of the decentralization process to 56 at present. With these rapid increases in the size of financial transfers to local governments, in the scope of local government functions and in the number of local governments, glaring gaps in local government functional capacity have become evident.

USAID's support to decentralization in Uganda began with a pilot activity in Gulu and Kamuli Districts focusing on capacity building for the elected and appointed officials and representatives of civil society. The aim was to increase local government capacity to deliver services and to expand civil society involvement in decision making and governmental oversight. USAID's approach in building the capacities of both the demand and supply sides of the service delivery partnership was both unique and strategic. During the pilot program, 524 elected, appointed and civil society representatives were trained in the three thematic areas of local governance and leadership, financial management and budgeting, and gender mainstreaming. The same audience was also the target of a separate but connected mentoring effort designed principally to enhance the understanding and applicability of the training in the trainees' workplaces.

The USAID program brought about significant improvements in the levels of compliance with the Local Government Act of 1997 in the two pilot districts. After only one year, Gulu and Kamuli so improved their capacities in planning, budgeting and financial management that they qualified for the Local Government Development Programme (LGDP) Grant. The LGDP is a World Bank funded grant to local governments awarded to districts that are able to demonstrate certain minimum capacities in planning, budgeting and financial management. The two districts had once before tried to qualify for the LGDP grant but without success. There was also a significant increase in women's participation in local government processes and increased awareness of and sensitivity to gender concerns. In Gulu district council, two women were elevated to positions of leadership through promotion and recruitment. Kamuli district council reported that the district NGO forum was invited to sit on and participate in the deliberations of the district technical planning committee. The district planner was also co-opted onto the Board of the NGO forum.

To build upon the success of this pilot effort, the Ministry of Local Government implored USAID to replicate the program in other districts. Additional districts were selected using a proactive and transparent strategy and training activities have been refined and broadened, based on lessons learned from the pilot phase.

USAID/ Uganda - Success Stories