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  3. Vol. 33 No. 4 (2008): Africa Development: Special Issue Public Sector Reforms in Africa
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Vol. 33 No. 4 (2008): Africa Development: Special Issue Public Sector Reforms in Africa

Issue Published : February 10, 2010

5 - Pitfalls of Decentralization Reforms in Transitional Societies: The Case of Uganda

https://doi.org/10.4314/ad.v33i4.57343
William Muhumuza

Corresponding Author(s) : William Muhumuza

wmuhumuza@yahoo.com

Africa Development, Vol. 33 No. 4 (2008): Africa Development: Special Issue Public Sector Reforms in Africa
Article Published : October 4, 2021

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Abstract

Decentralization reforms are in essence necessary if they have genuine demo- cratic objectives of empowering the people to make local-level governance effi- cient and effective. As the experience of Uganda reveals, donor-driven decen- tralization reforms have not performed according to expectations because of the converging external and domestic interests. This paper argues that for these reforms to succeed, the specific conditions pertaining to each country must be considered hand in hand with the honesty and political will of national leaders to genuinely transform power relations.


 

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Muhumuza, W. 2021. 5 - Pitfalls of Decentralization Reforms in Transitional Societies: The Case of Uganda. Africa Development. 33, 4 (Oct. 2021). DOI:https://doi.org/10.4314/ad.v33i4.57343.
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References
  1. Ali, Shawakat, A. M. M., 1987, Decentralization for Development: Experiment in Local Government Administration in Bangladesh, Asian Survey 27(7): 787– 799.
  2. Arnstein, S. R., 1971, A Ladder of Participation in the U.S.A., Journal of the Royal Town Planning Institute, April: 176–182.
  3. Bardhan, P. and Mookhejee, D., 2000, Capture and Governance at Local and National Levels, American Economic Review 90(2): 135–139.
  4. Beabout, G. R., 1998, The Principle of Subsidiarity and Freedom in the Family, Church, Market and Government, Markets and Morality 1(2), October. Accessed at: http://www.acton.org/publicat/m_and_m/1998_oct/beabout.html
  5. Burke, F., 1964, Local Government and Politics in Uganda, Syracuse and New York: Syracuse University Press.
  6. Burki, S. J., Perry, G. E. and Dellinger, W., 1999, Beyond the Center: Decentralizing the state, Washington, D.C.: World Bank.
  7. Craig, D. and Porter, D., 2003, Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers: A New Convergence, World Development 31(1): 53–69.
  8. Francis, P. and James, R., 2003, Balancing Rural Poverty Reduction and Citizen Participation: The Contradiction of Uganda’s Decentralization Programme, World Development 31(2): 325–337.
  9. Garcia-Guadilla, M. P. and Perez, C., 2002, Democracy, Decentralization and Clientilism: New Relationships and old Practices, Latin American Perspectives 29(5): 90–109.
  10. Hart, D. K., 1972, Theories of Government Related to Decentralization and Citizen Participation, Public Administration Review 32: 603–621.
  11. Haruna, F. P., 2001, Reflective Public Administration Reform: Building Relationships, Bridging Gaps in Ghana, African Studies Review 44(1): 37–57.
  12. Hauser, E., 1999, Uganda Relations with Western Donors in the 1990s: What Impact on Democratization?, The Journal of Modern African Studies 37(4): 621–641.
  13. Hicks, U. K., 1961, Development From Below: Local Government and Finance in Developing Countries of the Commonwealth, Oxford: Clarendon Press.
  14. Hughes, O. E., 1994, Public Management and Administration, New York: St Martin’s Press.
  15. Hyden, G., 1980, Beyond Ujamaa in Tanzania, Berkeley: University of California Press.
  16. International Monetary Fund (IMF), 1995, Uganda: Back from the Brink and on the Path to Sustained Growth, IMF Survey 24(22), 11 December.
  17. Ingraham, P. W., 1997, ‘Play it Again, Sam; It’s Still Not Right’: Searching for the Right Notes in Administrative Reform, Public Administration Review 57(4): 325–331.
  18. International Council of Human Rights Policy (ICHRP), 2002, Local Rule: Decentralization and Human Rights, Versoix: ICHRP.
  19. Isham, I., Narayan, D. and Pritchett, L., 1995, Does Participation Improve Performance? Establishing Causality with Subjective Data, The World Bank Economic Review 9(2): 175–200.
  20. Kiwanuka-Musisi, C. G., 1999, ‘Emerging Issues in the Implementation of Decentralization’, Paper presented at the National Forum on the Implementation of Decentralization in Uganda, 18 November.
  21. Lancaster, C., 1988, Policy Reform in Africa: How Effective?, A Journal of Opinion 16(2): 30–35.
  22. Livingstone, I. and Charlton, R., 2001, ‘Financing Decentralized Development in a Low-income Country: Raising Revenue for Local Government in Uganda’, Development and Change 32(1): 77–100.
  23. Local Government Finance Commission, 1997, Financial Decentralization in Uganda, Commission Report No. 1(February 1995–December 1996), Kampala: LGFC.
  24. Manor, J., 1998, The Political Economy of Democratic Decentralization, Washington, D.C.: World Bank.
  25. Mawhood, P. (ed.), 1983, Local Government in the Third World: The Experience in Tropical Africa, Chichester: John Wiley.
  26. Mbabazi, Amama, 2007, Political Situation in Pallisa District after the Bye- Election for LC5 Chairperson, Kampala: Office of the Secretary General, National Resistance Movement, 17 May.
  27. Mudoola, D. M., 1993, Religion, Ethnicity and Politics in Uganda, Kampala: Fountain Publishers.
  28. Muhumuza, W., 2004, The Empowerment of Women in Museveni’s Uganda: Who Benefits?, The Australasian Review of African Studies 26(2): 25–40.
  29. Muhumuza, W., 2006, Decentralization and State Rebuilding in Uganda, Research Report, Kampala: SIDA/SAREC and FSS, Makerere University.
  30. Olowu, D., 1989, Local Institutions and Development: The African Experience, Canadian Journal of African Studies 23(2): 201–231.
  31. Olowu, D., 1990, The Failure of Current Decentralization Programmes in Africa, in Wunsch, J. and Olowu, D., The Failure of the Centralized State, Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
  32. Republic of Uganda (ROU), 1995, Constitution of the Republic of Uganda, Entebbe: UPPC.
  33. Republic of Uganda (ROU), 1997, The Local Governments Act, 1997, Entebbe: UPPC.
  34. Republic of Uganda (ROU), 1997, The Movement Act, 1997, S 25, Entebbe: UPPC. Republic of Uganda (ROU), 2003, Decentralization and Modernization of Uganda: A Challenge to Local Governance, a Speech by the Minister of Local Government while visiting Iganga District, Kampala: Ministry of Local Government.
  35. Republic of Uganda (ROU), 2004, Annual Report to Parliament, 2004, Kampala: Local Government Finance Commission.
  36. Republic of Uganda (ROU), 2005, Annual Assessment of Minimum Conditions and Performance Measures for Local Government, 2004, Kampala: Ministry of Local Government.
  37. Republic of Uganda (ROU), 2006, Background to the Budget 2006/2007, Kampala: Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development.
  38. Republic of Uganda (ROU), 2006, Ministerial Policy Statement for Financial Year 2006/2007, Kampala: Ministry of Local Government.
  39. Republic of Uganda (ROU), 2006, Uganda National Household Survey 2005/ 2006, Report on the Socio-Economic Module, Kampala: Uganda Bureau of Statistics.
  40. Russel, C. S. and Nicholson, N.K. (eds), 1981, Public Choice and Rural Development, Washington, D. C.: Resources for the Future.
  41. Sandbrook, R., 1985, The Politics of Africa’s Economic Stagnation, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  42. Sandbrook, R. and Oelbaum, J., 1997, Reforming Dysfunctional Institutions through Democratization? Reflections on Ghana, The Journal of Modern African Studies 35(4): 603–646.
  43. Smith, Brian C., 1985, Decentralization: The Territorial Dimension of the State, London: Allen & Unwin.
  44. Steffensen, J., 2006, Local Government Organization and Finance: Uganda, in Anwar, S. (ed.), Local Governance in Developing Countries, Washington, D.C.: World Bank, pp. 93–136."
  45. Sunday Monitor, 2004, How Decentralization Took Corruption to Districts, 1 February.
  46. The New Vision, 2004, IGG Says Trim Local Government Powers, 31 January.
  47. The New Vision, 2007, Local Government: Third Most Corrupt Institution, by Mikaili Sseppuya, 4 January.
  48. The New Vision, 2007, Inspectorate of Government Probes Nepotism in Rakai, by Dismus Buregyeya, 20 May.
  49. Treisman, D., 2001, The Causes of Corruption: A Cross-national Study, Journal of Public Economics 76(3): 399–457.
  50. Udogu, I. E., 1999, The Issue of Ethnicity and Democratization in Africa: Toward the Millenium, Journal of Black Studies 29(6): 790–808.
  51. Villadsen, S. and Lubanga, F. (eds), 1996, Democratic Decentralization in Uganda: A New Approach to Local Governance, Kampala: Fountain Publishers.
  52. Wanyama, R., 2002, Donor News 2(2): 1–17 (July–September).
  53. World Bank (WB), 1992, Governance and Development, Washington, D.C.: World Bank.
  54. World Bank (WB), 1998, Rethinking Decentralization in Developing Countries, Washington, D.C.: World Bank.
  55. Young, T., 1994, Governance, the World Bank and Liberal Theory, Political Studies 42(1): 84–100.
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References


Ali, Shawakat, A. M. M., 1987, Decentralization for Development: Experiment in Local Government Administration in Bangladesh, Asian Survey 27(7): 787– 799.

Arnstein, S. R., 1971, A Ladder of Participation in the U.S.A., Journal of the Royal Town Planning Institute, April: 176–182.

Bardhan, P. and Mookhejee, D., 2000, Capture and Governance at Local and National Levels, American Economic Review 90(2): 135–139.

Beabout, G. R., 1998, The Principle of Subsidiarity and Freedom in the Family, Church, Market and Government, Markets and Morality 1(2), October. Accessed at: http://www.acton.org/publicat/m_and_m/1998_oct/beabout.html

Burke, F., 1964, Local Government and Politics in Uganda, Syracuse and New York: Syracuse University Press.

Burki, S. J., Perry, G. E. and Dellinger, W., 1999, Beyond the Center: Decentralizing the state, Washington, D.C.: World Bank.

Craig, D. and Porter, D., 2003, Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers: A New Convergence, World Development 31(1): 53–69.

Francis, P. and James, R., 2003, Balancing Rural Poverty Reduction and Citizen Participation: The Contradiction of Uganda’s Decentralization Programme, World Development 31(2): 325–337.

Garcia-Guadilla, M. P. and Perez, C., 2002, Democracy, Decentralization and Clientilism: New Relationships and old Practices, Latin American Perspectives 29(5): 90–109.

Hart, D. K., 1972, Theories of Government Related to Decentralization and Citizen Participation, Public Administration Review 32: 603–621.

Haruna, F. P., 2001, Reflective Public Administration Reform: Building Relationships, Bridging Gaps in Ghana, African Studies Review 44(1): 37–57.

Hauser, E., 1999, Uganda Relations with Western Donors in the 1990s: What Impact on Democratization?, The Journal of Modern African Studies 37(4): 621–641.

Hicks, U. K., 1961, Development From Below: Local Government and Finance in Developing Countries of the Commonwealth, Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Hughes, O. E., 1994, Public Management and Administration, New York: St Martin’s Press.

Hyden, G., 1980, Beyond Ujamaa in Tanzania, Berkeley: University of California Press.

International Monetary Fund (IMF), 1995, Uganda: Back from the Brink and on the Path to Sustained Growth, IMF Survey 24(22), 11 December.

Ingraham, P. W., 1997, ‘Play it Again, Sam; It’s Still Not Right’: Searching for the Right Notes in Administrative Reform, Public Administration Review 57(4): 325–331.

International Council of Human Rights Policy (ICHRP), 2002, Local Rule: Decentralization and Human Rights, Versoix: ICHRP.

Isham, I., Narayan, D. and Pritchett, L., 1995, Does Participation Improve Performance? Establishing Causality with Subjective Data, The World Bank Economic Review 9(2): 175–200.

Kiwanuka-Musisi, C. G., 1999, ‘Emerging Issues in the Implementation of Decentralization’, Paper presented at the National Forum on the Implementation of Decentralization in Uganda, 18 November.

Lancaster, C., 1988, Policy Reform in Africa: How Effective?, A Journal of Opinion 16(2): 30–35.

Livingstone, I. and Charlton, R., 2001, ‘Financing Decentralized Development in a Low-income Country: Raising Revenue for Local Government in Uganda’, Development and Change 32(1): 77–100.

Local Government Finance Commission, 1997, Financial Decentralization in Uganda, Commission Report No. 1(February 1995–December 1996), Kampala: LGFC.

Manor, J., 1998, The Political Economy of Democratic Decentralization, Washington, D.C.: World Bank.

Mawhood, P. (ed.), 1983, Local Government in the Third World: The Experience in Tropical Africa, Chichester: John Wiley.

Mbabazi, Amama, 2007, Political Situation in Pallisa District after the Bye- Election for LC5 Chairperson, Kampala: Office of the Secretary General, National Resistance Movement, 17 May.

Mudoola, D. M., 1993, Religion, Ethnicity and Politics in Uganda, Kampala: Fountain Publishers.

Muhumuza, W., 2004, The Empowerment of Women in Museveni’s Uganda: Who Benefits?, The Australasian Review of African Studies 26(2): 25–40.

Muhumuza, W., 2006, Decentralization and State Rebuilding in Uganda, Research Report, Kampala: SIDA/SAREC and FSS, Makerere University.

Olowu, D., 1989, Local Institutions and Development: The African Experience, Canadian Journal of African Studies 23(2): 201–231.

Olowu, D., 1990, The Failure of Current Decentralization Programmes in Africa, in Wunsch, J. and Olowu, D., The Failure of the Centralized State, Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

Republic of Uganda (ROU), 1995, Constitution of the Republic of Uganda, Entebbe: UPPC.

Republic of Uganda (ROU), 1997, The Local Governments Act, 1997, Entebbe: UPPC.

Republic of Uganda (ROU), 1997, The Movement Act, 1997, S 25, Entebbe: UPPC. Republic of Uganda (ROU), 2003, Decentralization and Modernization of Uganda: A Challenge to Local Governance, a Speech by the Minister of Local Government while visiting Iganga District, Kampala: Ministry of Local Government.

Republic of Uganda (ROU), 2004, Annual Report to Parliament, 2004, Kampala: Local Government Finance Commission.

Republic of Uganda (ROU), 2005, Annual Assessment of Minimum Conditions and Performance Measures for Local Government, 2004, Kampala: Ministry of Local Government.

Republic of Uganda (ROU), 2006, Background to the Budget 2006/2007, Kampala: Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development.

Republic of Uganda (ROU), 2006, Ministerial Policy Statement for Financial Year 2006/2007, Kampala: Ministry of Local Government.

Republic of Uganda (ROU), 2006, Uganda National Household Survey 2005/ 2006, Report on the Socio-Economic Module, Kampala: Uganda Bureau of Statistics.

Russel, C. S. and Nicholson, N.K. (eds), 1981, Public Choice and Rural Development, Washington, D. C.: Resources for the Future.

Sandbrook, R., 1985, The Politics of Africa’s Economic Stagnation, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Sandbrook, R. and Oelbaum, J., 1997, Reforming Dysfunctional Institutions through Democratization? Reflections on Ghana, The Journal of Modern African Studies 35(4): 603–646.

Smith, Brian C., 1985, Decentralization: The Territorial Dimension of the State, London: Allen & Unwin.

Steffensen, J., 2006, Local Government Organization and Finance: Uganda, in Anwar, S. (ed.), Local Governance in Developing Countries, Washington, D.C.: World Bank, pp. 93–136."

Sunday Monitor, 2004, How Decentralization Took Corruption to Districts, 1 February.

The New Vision, 2004, IGG Says Trim Local Government Powers, 31 January.

The New Vision, 2007, Local Government: Third Most Corrupt Institution, by Mikaili Sseppuya, 4 January.

The New Vision, 2007, Inspectorate of Government Probes Nepotism in Rakai, by Dismus Buregyeya, 20 May.

Treisman, D., 2001, The Causes of Corruption: A Cross-national Study, Journal of Public Economics 76(3): 399–457.

Udogu, I. E., 1999, The Issue of Ethnicity and Democratization in Africa: Toward the Millenium, Journal of Black Studies 29(6): 790–808.

Villadsen, S. and Lubanga, F. (eds), 1996, Democratic Decentralization in Uganda: A New Approach to Local Governance, Kampala: Fountain Publishers.

Wanyama, R., 2002, Donor News 2(2): 1–17 (July–September).

World Bank (WB), 1992, Governance and Development, Washington, D.C.: World Bank.

World Bank (WB), 1998, Rethinking Decentralization in Developing Countries, Washington, D.C.: World Bank.

Young, T., 1994, Governance, the World Bank and Liberal Theory, Political Studies 42(1): 84–100.

Author Biography

William Muhumuza

Department of Political Science, Makerere University, Uganda.

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