Local Govt leaders warn Finance ministry on parish model

Local government leaders have urged the central government to sensitise local leaders about the Parish Development Model project before it can be rolled out.

Under their umbrella body, the Uganda Local Government Association (ULGA), the leaders say this is intended to avoid repeating past mistakes committed in other government development projects. 

“Several development projects have been implemented at local government level and after a short period of time, they collapse because the local leaders are not well trained to oversee them,” ULGA general secretary Rose Gamwera told journalists in Kampala yesterday.

 Ms Gamwera said the Parish Development Model cannot succeed when the local leaders are left out.
“Right now majority of local leaders are new in office and there is a need for orientation on their responsibilities in the government programme,” she added.

Ms Gamwera also revealed that all local governments are working to ensure that each parish has the necessary leaders to ensure implementation of the parish model.

Mr Patrick Kayemba, the ULGA vice president for eastern region, said the parish development model fits well under the decentralisation programme, and urged the central government to give districts and urban councils autonomy to monitor and implement the project.

“As ULGA, we must say it is good that development is now centred at the parish level and this has been lacking for a long time,” he said.

“At least now we have a parish with a budget and we think that we will definitely continue with engagement and reshaping the parish model to actually be anchored on the real principles of decentralisation,” he added.

Mr Kayemba also urged the central government for more budgetary allocation to districts. “Eighty per cent of service delivery in this country is delivered at local government level and yet we receive a miserable 11 per cent of the National Budget. As ULGA, we recommended that if government would transfer up to 38 per cent to us, we could serve and give our people the desired services,” he said.

When contacted, Mr Jim Mugunga, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Finance, said there was ongoing training for local government leaders about the implementation of the parish model.

“Relevant administrators are trained in receiving resources and how to manage them at parish level and in some areas where the committees do not exist, we have started establishing them,” he said.