Local citizen participation in Uganda: Examining the political, administrative and financial aspects in Hoima district

https://doi.org/10.35912/jgas.v2i1.892
Published: Mar 18, 2022

Abstract:

Purpose: This study aims to ascertain the impact of political, administrative and financial factors on local participants in Hoima district, Uganda.

Research methodology: To ascertain the factors that impact participants in Uganda, a descriptive study was used in which primary data was analysed using descriptive statistics.

Results: The factors were identified and clustered into thematic areas; they indicate a cluster of three factors appeared as themes. The results suggest that financial and political challenges are key impediments to effective participation and a good number of the technical personnel were not appointed on the basis of technical know-how. Hoima district needed to intensify its advocacy regarding increased central government transfers as well as the disbursements of more unconditional grants coupled with regular monitoring of its technical personnel.

Limitations: The key limitation is the geographical scope since this study covered only one district, implying that the results cannot be generalized for the whole country.

Contribution: The results of this are essential to academics in both Public Administration and Policy studies interested in enhancing local democracy and citizen-based governance.

Keywords:
1. Administrative
2. Citizen participation
3. Financial
4. Hoima district
5. Political
Authors:
1 . David Mwesigwa
Lira University, Lira, Uganda
2 . Mohammed Bogere
Nkumba University, Nkumba, Uganda
3 . John Baptist Ogwal
Lira University, Lira, Uganda
View PDF
How to Cite
Mwesigwa, D., Bogere, M., & Ogwal, J. B. (2022). Local citizen participation in Uganda: Examining the political, administrative and financial aspects in Hoima district. Journal of Governance and Accountability Studies, 2(1), 49–63. https://doi.org/10.35912/jgas.v2i1.892
Download Citation
  1. Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS)
  2. BibTeX

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.
Issue & Section
Vol. 2 No. 1 (2022): January
Articles
References

    Andani, A. (2018). Alternative approaches to community participation beyond formal structures: evidence from Langa within the municipality of Cape Town. Commonwealth Journal Of Local Governance, 20. 83-97. Accessed 12 September 2021: https://doi.org/10.5130/cjlg.v0i20.6084

    Biljohn, M, I, M., and Lues, L. (2020). Citizen participation, social innovation, and the governance of local government service delivery: findings from South Africa. International Journal of Public Administration, 43(3). 229-41. Doi: 10.1080/01900692.2019.1628052

    Bluhdorn, N., and Butzlaff, F. (2020). Democratisation beyond the post-democratic turn: towards a research agenda on new conceptions of citizen participation. Democratisation, 27(3). 369-88. Doi: 10.1080/13510347.2019.1707808

    Buttazzoni, A., Arku, G., and Cleave, E. (2019). Practitioners’ perspective on in-house versus arm’s-length structures of local economic development delivery in Ontario, Canada. Local Government Studies, 45(6). 913-36. Doi: 10.1080/03003930.2019.1624255

    Cardoso, D. (2019). From centralisation to fragmentation and back again: the role of non-state actors in Brazil’s transformed foreign policy. Third World Quarterly, 40(8). 1535-53. Doi: 10.1080/01436597.2019.1635881

    Carruthers, C.P., Busser, J.A., Cain, C., and Brown, C. (2010). Students’ experiences and outcomes from participation in an extracurricular club. SCHOLE: A Journal of Leisure Studies and Recreation Education, 25(1). 36-53. Doi: 10.1080/1937156X.2010.1194964

    Cianga, I. (2020). Festivals, place-making and local economic development: the untold festival in Cluj. Journal Of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies, 22(4). 506-20. Doi: 10.1080/19448953.2020.1775402

    Elliott, G. (2015). Decentralisation and development in contemporary Uganda. Regional And Federal Studies, 1-18.

    Fiorentino, S. (2019). Different typologies of ‘co-working spaces’ and the contemporary dynamics of local economic development in Rome. European Planning Studies, 27(9). 1768-90. Doi: 10.1080/09654313.2019.1620697

    González, L.I. (2019). Federal transfers, inequality, and redistribution: contrasting theories and empirical evidence for five Latin American cases. Regional & Federal Studies, 29(2).165-85. Doi: 10.1080/13597566.2018.1511981

    Green, E. (2015). Decentralisation and development in contemporary Uganda. Regional & Federal Studies, 25(5). 491-508. Doi: 10.1080/13597566.2015.1114925

    Harris, L. (2000). Issues of fairness in recruitment processes: a descriptive study of local government practice. Local Government Studies, 26(1). 31-46. Doi: 10.1080/03003930008433976

    Hossain, M., and Roy, P.K. (2019). Does democratic local governance facilitate local economic development? Evidence from Bangladesh. Local Government Studies, 45(6). 827-47. Doi: 10.1080/03003930.2019.1583561

    Khisa, M. (2020). Politicisation and professionalization: the progress and perils of civil-military transformation in Museveni’s Uganda. Civil Wars, 22(2). 289-312. Doi: 10.1080/13698249.2020.1724727

    Kortleven, W.J., Lala, S., and Lotfi, Y. (2019). Interprofessional teamwork in decentralised childcare welfare in the Netherlands: a comparison between the cities of Amsterdam and Utrecht. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 33(1). 116-9. Doi: 10.1080/13561820.2018.1513463

    Kuutti, T., Sajaniemi, N., Bjorn, P.M., heiskanen, N., and Reunamo, J. (2021). Participation, involvement and peer relationships in children with special educational needs in early childhood education. European Journal of Special Needs Education. Doi: 10.1080/08856257.2021.1920214

    Kwak, S. (2019). Deconstructing the multi-layered nature of participantsin Vietnam: conceptual connotations, discourses of international development, and the country’s institutional context. Asian Journal of Political Science, 27(3). 257-71. Doi: 10.1080/02185377.2019.1631866

    Lehtonen, P. (2021). Policy on the move: the enabling settings of participation in participatory budgeting. Policy studies. Doi: 10.1080/01442872.2021.1895981

    Liao, Y., and Ma, L. (2019). Do professional associations make a difference?: linking municipal managers’ association participation and attitudes toward citizen participation. Public management review, 21(12). 1824-47. Doi: 10.1080/14719037.2019.1577907

    Madinah, N. (2020). Recentralisation and urban service delivery in Kampala capital city authority. Urban studies and public administration, 3(3). 116-30. Doi: 10.22158/uspa.v3n3p116

    Madinah, N., Boerhannoeddin, A., Ariffin, R.N.B., and Bwengye, M. (2015). Recentralisation of Kampala city administration in Uganda: implications for top and bottom accountability. SAGE open. 1-13. Doi: 10.1177/2158244015591017

    Mashau, T.S., Molaudzi, A.M., Mutshaeni, H.N. (2017). Introduction of traditional leadership and local government mayors and councillors in improving learner performance and quality education in the Limpopo province. Journal of social sciences, 52(1-3). 105-10. Doi: 10.1080/09718923.2017.1305567

    Musenze, I.A., and Sifuna, M.T. (2020). Development and validation of a total quality management model for Uganda’s local government. Cogent Business & Management, 7(1). Doi: 10.1080/23311975.2020.1767996

    Mushemeza, E.D. (2019). “Decentralisation in Uganda: trends, achievements, challenges and proposals for consolidation.” ACODE policy research paper series, No 93. Kampala.

    Mwesigwa, D. (2021). Towards enhancing local participantsin Uganda. Dynamics of Politics and Democracy, 1(1), 15-28. https://doi.org/10.35912/dpd.v1i1.449

    Mwesigwa, D., Bogere, M., & Anastassova, L. (2021). Intergrated policy formulation processes in local governmets: A case study in mid-western ganda. Joural of governance and accountability studies, 1(2), 83-101. https://doi.org/10.35912/jgas.v1i2.571

    Mwondha, M., Bargahara, K.T., Mubiru, N.M., Kanaabi, S.W., and Nalukwago, M.I. (2018). “Why African tax authorities should more women: evidence from the Uganda revenue authority.” ICTD working paper 85. Kampala.

    Pfeifer, H., Opitz, C., and Geis, A. (2020). Deliberating foreign policy: perceptions and effects of participantsin Germany. German politics, Doi: 10.1080/09644008.2020.1786058

    Republic of Uganda. (2014). Local economic development policy. Ministry of local governments. Kampala.

    Silva,L.M.S., Nursalam, D. & Toda, H. (2020). Policy implementation of local governmets in waste management in Dili city, Timor Leste. Journalof governance ad accountabilitystudies, 1(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.35912/jgas.v1i1.343

    Tabaro, R. (2018). “Factors affecting local revenue generation in local governments: a descriptive study of Wakiso district.” Master’s degree thesis, Makerere University.

    Tabumuha, I.B., Sseguya, H., Miiro, R., and Okry, F. (2020). Participation or legitimisation? Assessment of quality of participation in farmer learning video production in central Uganda. The journal of agricultural education and extension, 26(3). 253-68. Doi: 10.1080/1389224X.2019.1690011

    Tangri, R., and Mwenda, A.M. (2019). Change and continuity in the politics of government-business relations in Museveni’s Uganda. Journal of eastern African studies, 13(4). 678-97. Doi: 10.1080/17531055.2019.1655879

    Tesfay, M.G. (2021). The impact of participation in rural credit program on adoption of inorganic fertilizer: a panel data evidence from northern Ethiopia. Cogent food & agriculture, 7(1). Doi: 10.1080/23311932.2021.1919388

    Wales, L., Davis, K., Kelly, G., and Lynott, H. (2021). Long-term participation outcomes for severe acquired brain injury in childhood – an expanded scoping review. Developmental neurohabilitation, 24(6). 379-87. Doi: 10.1080/17518423.2021.1886191

  1. Andani, A. (2018). Alternative approaches to community participation beyond formal structures: evidence from Langa within the municipality of Cape Town. Commonwealth Journal Of Local Governance, 20. 83-97. Accessed 12 September 2021: https://doi.org/10.5130/cjlg.v0i20.6084
  2. Biljohn, M, I, M., and Lues, L. (2020). Citizen participation, social innovation, and the governance of local government service delivery: findings from South Africa. International Journal of Public Administration, 43(3). 229-41. Doi: 10.1080/01900692.2019.1628052
  3. Bluhdorn, N., and Butzlaff, F. (2020). Democratisation beyond the post-democratic turn: towards a research agenda on new conceptions of citizen participation. Democratisation, 27(3). 369-88. Doi: 10.1080/13510347.2019.1707808
  4. Buttazzoni, A., Arku, G., and Cleave, E. (2019). Practitioners’ perspective on in-house versus arm’s-length structures of local economic development delivery in Ontario, Canada. Local Government Studies, 45(6). 913-36. Doi: 10.1080/03003930.2019.1624255
  5. Cardoso, D. (2019). From centralisation to fragmentation and back again: the role of non-state actors in Brazil’s transformed foreign policy. Third World Quarterly, 40(8). 1535-53. Doi: 10.1080/01436597.2019.1635881
  6. Carruthers, C.P., Busser, J.A., Cain, C., and Brown, C. (2010). Students’ experiences and outcomes from participation in an extracurricular club. SCHOLE: A Journal of Leisure Studies and Recreation Education, 25(1). 36-53. Doi: 10.1080/1937156X.2010.1194964
  7. 8Cianga, I. (2020). Festivals, place-making and local economic development: the untold festival in Cluj. Journal Of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies, 22(4). 506-20. Doi: 10.1080/19448953.2020.1775402
  8. Elliott, G. (2015). Decentralisation and development in contemporary Uganda. Regional And Federal Studies, 1-18.
  9. Fiorentino, S. (2019). Different typologies of ‘co-working spaces’ and the contemporary dynamics of local economic development in Rome. European Planning Studies, 27(9). 1768-90. Doi: 10.1080/09654313.2019.1620697
  10. González, L.I. (2019). Federal transfers, inequality, and redistribution: contrasting theories and empirical evidence for five Latin American cases. Regional & Federal Studies, 29(2).165-85. Doi: 10.1080/13597566.2018.1511981
  11. Green, E. (2015). Decentralisation and development in contemporary Uganda. Regional & Federal Studies, 25(5). 491-508. Doi: 10.1080/13597566.2015.1114925
  12. Harris, L. (2000). Issues of fairness in recruitment processes: a descriptive study of local government practice. Local Government Studies, 26(1). 31-46. Doi: 10.1080/03003930008433976
  13. Hossain, M., and Roy, P.K. (2019). Does democratic local governance facilitate local economic development? Evidence from Bangladesh. Local Government Studies, 45(6). 827-47. Doi: 10.1080/03003930.2019.1583561
  14. Khisa, M. (2020). Politicisation and professionalization: the progress and perils of civil-military transformation in Museveni’s Uganda. Civil Wars, 22(2). 289-312. Doi: 10.1080/13698249.2020.1724727
  15. Kortleven, W.J., Lala, S., and Lotfi, Y. (2019). Interprofessional teamwork in decentralised childcare welfare in the Netherlands: a comparison between the cities of Amsterdam and Utrecht. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 33(1). 116-9. Doi: 10.1080/13561820.2018.1513463
  16. Kuutti, T., Sajaniemi, N., Bjorn, P.M., heiskanen, N., and Reunamo, J. (2021). Participation, involvement and peer relationships in children with special educational needs in early childhood education. European Journal of Special Needs Education. Doi: 10.1080/08856257.2021.1920214
  17. Kwak, S. (2019). Deconstructing the multi-layered nature of participantsin Vietnam: conceptual connotations, discourses of international development, and the country’s institutional context. Asian Journal of Political Science, 27(3). 257-71. Doi: 10.1080/02185377.2019.1631866
  18. Lehtonen, P. (2021). Policy on the move: the enabling settings of participation in participatory budgeting. Policy studies. Doi: 10.1080/01442872.2021.1895981
  19. Liao, Y., and Ma, L. (2019). Do professional associations make a difference?: linking municipal managers’ association participation and attitudes toward citizen participation. Public management review, 21(12). 1824-47. Doi: 10.1080/14719037.2019.1577907
  20. Madinah, N. (2020). Recentralisation and urban service delivery in Kampala capital city authority. Urban studies and public administration, 3(3). 116-30. Doi: 10.22158/uspa.v3n3p116
  21. Madinah, N., Boerhannoeddin, A., Ariffin, R.N.B., and Bwengye, M. (2015). Recentralisation of Kampala city administration in Uganda: implications for top and bottom accountability. SAGE open. 1-13. Doi: 10.1177/2158244015591017
  22. Mashau, T.S., Molaudzi, A.M., Mutshaeni, H.N. (2017). Introduction of traditional leadership and local government mayors and councillors in improving learner performance and quality education in the Limpopo province. Journal of social sciences, 52(1-3). 105-10. Doi: 10.1080/09718923.2017.1305567
  23. Musenze, I.A., and Sifuna, M.T. (2020). Development and validation of a total quality management model for Uganda’s local government. Cogent Business & Management, 7(1). Doi: 10.1080/23311975.2020.1767996
  24. Mushemeza, E.D. (2019). “Decentralisation in Uganda: trends, achievements, challenges and proposals for consolidation.” ACODE policy research paper series, No 93. Kampala.
  25. Mwesigwa, D. (2021). Towards enhancing local participantsin Uganda. Dynamics of Politics and Democracy, 1(1), 15-28. https://doi.org/10.35912/dpd.v1i1.449
  26. Mwesigwa, D., Bogere, M., & Anastassova, L. (2021). Intergrated policy formulation processes in local governmets: A case study in mid-western ganda. Joural of governance and accountability studies, 1(2), 83-101. https://doi.org/10.35912/jgas.v1i2.571
  27. Mwondha, M., Bargahara, K.T., Mubiru, N.M., Kanaabi, S.W., and Nalukwago, M.I. (2018). “Why African tax authorities should more women: evidence from the Uganda revenue authority.” ICTD working paper 85. Kampala.
  28. Pfeifer, H., Opitz, C., and Geis, A. (2020). Deliberating foreign policy: perceptions and effects of participantsin Germany. German politics, Doi: 10.1080/09644008.2020.1786058
  29. Republic of Uganda. (2014). Local economic development policy. Ministry of local governments. Kampala.
  30. Silva,L.M.S., Nursalam, D. & Toda, H. (2020). Policy implementation of local governmets in waste management in Dili city, Timor Leste. Journalof governance ad accountabilitystudies, 1(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.35912/jgas.v1i1.343
  31. Tabaro, R. (2018). “Factors affecting local revenue generation in local governments: a descriptive study of Wakiso district.” Master’s degree thesis, Makerere University.
  32. Tabumuha, I.B., Sseguya, H., Miiro, R., and Okry, F. (2020). Participation or legitimisation? Assessment of quality of participation in farmer learning video production in central Uganda. The journal of agricultural education and extension, 26(3). 253-68. Doi: 10.1080/1389224X.2019.1690011
  33. Tangri, R., and Mwenda, A.M. (2019). Change and continuity in the politics of government-business relations in Museveni’s Uganda. Journal of eastern African studies, 13(4). 678-97. Doi: 10.1080/17531055.2019.1655879
  34. Tesfay, M.G. (2021). The impact of participation in rural credit program on adoption of inorganic fertilizer: a panel data evidence from northern Ethiopia. Cogent food & agriculture, 7(1). Doi: 10.1080/23311932.2021.1919388
  35. Wales, L., Davis, K., Kelly, G., and Lynott, H. (2021). Long-term participation outcomes for severe acquired brain injury in childhood – an expanded scoping review. Developmental neurohabilitation, 24(6). 379-87. Doi: 10.1080/17518423.2021.1886191