Ugandans’ trust in public institutions drops – Ubos

The group turned rowdy after police fired teargas and live bullets to disperse them. Trust in the Uganda Police Force (UPF) dropped to 46 per cent from 57 per cent. PHOTO BY JAMES KABENGWA

What you need to know:

  • What it means. According to the survey, this is an indicator of a ‘systemic governance disillusionment’.

Kampala. The trust Ugandans have in public institutions generally dropped during the four years leading to the most recent survey in 2017.
This, according to the National Governance Peace and Security Survey 2017, which the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) released last month, is an indicator of ‘systemic governance disillusionment’.
The study breaks down the levels of trust that Ugandans have in different public institutions, showing that the least trusted public institution is the social security (pension and National Social Security Fund) system, with 23 per cent – a drop from 44 per cent from the last time such a study was carried out in 2013.
Confidence in tax/customs authorities is at 29 per cent, down from 39 per cent, while belief in state media (Uganda Communications Commission, Uganda Broadcasting Corporation and the Uganda Media Centre) is at 40 per cent, also down from 57 per cent.
Trust in the Uganda Police Force (UPF) dropped to 46 per cent from 57 per cent, while trust in the courts of the Judicature is at 47 per cent, down from 62 per cent.
Forty-seven per cent have confidence in Parliament, 54 per cent in public service – a decrease by seven percentage points.
Trust in public healthcare facilities is at 62 per cent, a decrease from 75 per cent, while in public schools, it fell to 68 per cent from 73 per cent.
It is only on mayoral office/Local Council IIIs that public trust rose – from 50 per cent to 62 per cent.

Reactions
On the specific issue of the low levels of trust in the pension sector, the Ministry of Public Service Permanent Secretary, Ms Catherine Bitarakwate Musingwiire, said the government has come up with the Contributory Pension Scheme Bill to replace the public service pension scheme.
“At the end of their [civil servants] tenure, they will walk away with their money,” Ms Musingwiire said on Thursday.
Last month, the Public Service minister, Mr Wilson Muruli Mukasa, said the government will next fiscal year introduce a contributory pension scheme for public servants.
Once in force, the government will be deducting five per cent from each civil servant’s monthly salary and topping it up with 10 per cent and give it to the civil servants once they retire.
It will replace the current non-contributory scheme, which is funded from the Consolidated Fund.

Other findings
Eighty four per cent supported a democratic system for Uganda, 39 per cent were of the view that the army should rule Uganda, while 36 per cent would want a powerful leader who does not have to worry about Parliament or elections to lead the country.
Nine per cent want to own a firearm to protect themselves, 24 per cent believe they are likely to be victims of crime, and only 45 per cent trust fellow Ugandans.
At least 89 per cent believe police are corrupt, 78 per cent believe civil servants are corrupt, 69 believe judges and magistrates are corrupt, 68 per cent believe Members of Parliament are corrupt, 62 per cent believe Cabinet ministers are corrupt and 44 per cent believe local officials are corrupt.