Citizen engagement is vital

One of the basic foundations of Uganda’s decentralisation is ensuring people’s participation and democratic control in decision making, all of which promote local ownership and assure the sustainability of initiatives and programmes.

According to the IGG, our country loses 20 trillion each year to corruption. Last year, the Auditor General’s report for 2022 stated that 29.5 billion had been sent to 3,214 non-existent SACCOs, while 79.2 billion had been wired but remained idle on Sacco accounts for the execution of the Parish Development Model pillar on financial inclusion.

Local governments have complained about construction work that has been started but has not been completed, and in many cases, these contractors are given certificates of completion and are completely compensated or paid three quarters of contractual amount.

While verifying projects around the country in 2021, former minister of state Office of the President for Economic Monitoring Hon. Peter Ogwang discovered non-existent boreholes, bridges in Bududa that collapsed before commissioning, roads in Kakumiro that were poorly done, and health centers in Kamuli that collapsed before use.

There have been concerns in other districts about contracts awarded to companies owned by councillors in the district, yet even in such cases, substandard and partial work has been cited. Citizens are unaware of the service standards in place at a certain service delivery unit, as well as the types of questions they should be asking their leaders. Without a doubt, we are all direct victims of economic, social, and political dominance and paternalism.

Moyo District began construction of Dufile Seed Secondary School in May 2019 at a cost of 2.096 billion Shillings through the World Bank’s intergovernmental fiscal transfer (UgIFT) program. Achoru United Traders Limited’s contractors failed to complete the school and abandoned it, and the school’s administrators petitioned the IGG’s Office to examine the halted construction activities. Recently, Doctor Jimmy Ssentongo aka Dr Spire organized an online initiative to highlight the deplorable status of Kampala City’s roads and to call on the government, specifically the KCCA, to account for and repair these roads. The President asked the Ministry of Finance to allocate 6 billion shillings to KCCA for road construction in his speech before Idd. Although this appears to be a drop in the ocean, it does demonstrate a fulfilment citizen demands and that an engaged citizenry has the potential to force the government to act. However, there is a larger national dilemma that we must confront; a resigned citizenry, and a smack in the face is the deafening silence of civil society in all of this.

An involved populace would report instances of poor workmanship, poor employee attitude, absenteeism, and broken down service units, but this does not occur. Firstly, is the fact that we have neglected civic education, and it is apparent that many citizens are unaware that leaders must be accountable to them, particularly elected leaders who are merely representatives of their constituencies. As a result, when leaders do anything for the community, they feel that they have done them a wonderful service and deserve to be re-elected. The social contract that communities have with their leaders, on the other hand, is the efficient and successful delivery of services. It is critical that the government, through the Uganda Human Rights Commission, actively undertakes civic education; one that liberates not dominates.

Information hoarding has been a powerful weapon in cementing this dominance. Article 41 of Uganda’s 1995 Constitution grants every citizen the right to access information held by the state or any other organ or agency of the state, unless the revelation jeopardizes the state or a person. You have the right to obtain facts and data concerning the exercise of any public authority, as well as the use of any public funds, if you have access to information.

Aside from being a human right, the right to information is a critical weapon that empowers citizens to demand accountability from governments, engage in public life, and fight corruption through knowledge.

Lastly, the accountability committees at the local government level that are the Local Government Public Accounts Committee, District Land Board and the District Service Commission need to be popularised to citizens and their functionality revitalised.

Ms Rebecca Nalwoga-Mukwaya is a Community development practitioner and Social Science Research Consultant at ACODE.