The local government system in Uganda can be traced back to structures established by the British colonial powers from around 1900. These structures were in turn molded upon the chiefly system of authority in Central Uganda (The kingdom of Buganda model).
The hierarchy of chiefs stretched from village, through parish and sub-county level. The traditional chiefs and the King (Kabaka) in central Uganda (Buganda) managed to secure significant powers and autonomy as well as private property of the bulk of arable land through the 1900 agreement, whereby Uganda was established as a Protectorate rather than a colony.
By the 1920s under the consolidation of the British administration, the powers of the chiefs had been restricted and eventually the system of chiefs was reduced to a bureaucracy of civil servants. The system was eventually modified into one of democratically elected councils.
At Independence in 1962 the Constitution provided for the devolution of powers to Kingdoms, Urban councils and District Councils. This system was reversed in the 1967 constitution and Local Administration Act whereby the powers of local authorities were severely restricted. For most of the politically turbulent period of the 1970s Uganda experienced a serious collapse in the services provided by local administration – partly as a consequence of the general decline of the economy.
Under the National Resistance Movement (NRM) in 1986 one of the first political and administrative reforms was the country wide introduction of the Resistance council (RC) system of popularly elected councils and committees from village level to district level. [1]
SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT IN UGANDA
Uganda operates a unitary system of government owing to its size, history and cultural background. Under the 1995 constitution, the president is both head of state and head of government, and is elected by popular vote for a term of five years. Government policies are decided by a cabinet consisting of the president, vice president, and ministers who are appointed by the president and who must be approved by parliament. The president also appoints the vice president, subject to the approval of parliament. The vice president and cabinet ministers do not hold fixed terms of office, and are replaced at the discretion of the president.
Legislative power rests in a unicameral parliament, whose 308 members serve five-year terms. Of these members, 214 are directly elected by the general public, while 94 are specially elected to represent particular interest groups (69 women, one popularly elected from each district; 10 army personnel to represent the army; 5 youth representatives; 5 workers’ representatives; and 5 representatives for persons with disabilities).
The constitution guarantees the independence of the judiciary. The High Court has the power to try any criminal or civil case for the first time, and also hears appeals from the local, lower magistrates’ courts. Appeals of High Court decisions are made to the Court of Appeals and from there to the Supreme Court. Issues of interpretation of the constitution may be taken directly to a bench of five judges from the Court of Appeals sitting as the Constitutional Court. Judges are appointed by the president acting on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission and with the approval of parliament. [2]
STRUCTURE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN UGANDA
The structure of Local government in Uganda is broadly classified into District (LC5), County(LC4), Sub County(LC3), Parish(LC2), and Village(LC1)[there are conflicting statistics of numbers of districts, county et al as at the time of this write up hence we have avoided discussing it]. The local government system is based on the district as a unit under which there are lower local governments and administrative units, and the arrangement is best illustrated below;
- District (LC5) Local government Council
- County (LC4) Administrative Unit Council
- Sub-county (LC3) Local government Council
- Parish (LC2) Administrative Unit Councils
- Village (LC1) Administrative Unit Councils
There are distinct differences between local government councils and administrative unit councils:
A local government council is a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal. It may sue or be sued in its corporate name. Each local government council has a directly elected chairperson, directly elected councilors representing demarcated electoral areas, two councilors (one male, one female) representing the youth, two councilors (one male, one female) representing persons with disabilities and women councilors forming one third of the council. Additionally, every lower local government council has two elderly persons (one male, one female) above the age of fifty five years nominated by the respective executive committee for approval by the respective council. A speaker, elected from among the members presides at council meetings.
Every local government council is obliged to appoint an executive committee, which committee is chaired by the Chairperson. It is the responsibility of the executive committee to initiate and formulate policy for approval by the council; monitor and oversee the implementation of policies and programmes; and recommend to the council persons to be appointed members of statutory commissions, boards and committees. Local government councils also have standing committees, which make detailed consideration of proposals and recommendations.
An administrative unit council is not a corporate body. Its functions are to resolve problems or disputes monitor the delivery of services and assist in the maintenance of law, order and security. Administrative unit councils at the county level consist of all members of the sub county executive committee in the county; at the parish level, all members of the village executive committees in the parish; and at the village, all persons of eighteen years of age or above residing in the village. In addition, administrative unit councils have ex-officio members - at the county, all district councilors representing electoral areas in the county and at the parish, all sub-county councilors representing electoral areas in the parish. Meetings of an administrative unit council, unlike the meetings of a local government council, are presided over by the Chairperson.
The village and parish administrative units are required to have an executive committee. A county council cannot, however, establish or appoint an executive committee in its true meaning. Instead, the county council elects a Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson from among its members.
Local government and administrative units are collectively known as local councils (LC). [3]
FUNCTIONS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN UGANDA
The functions of local government tend to be somewhat complex in nature and are shared amongst the various levels thus:
Functions and Services for which District Councils (Local Government) are responsible;
1. Education services, which cover nursery, primary, secondary, trade, special education and technical education;
2. Medical and health services which include:-
(a) Hospitals, other than those providing referral and medical training
(b) Health centers, dispensaries, sub- dispensaries and first aid posts
(c) Maternity and child welfare services
(d) The control of communicable diseases, including HIV, Leprosy and TB
(e) Control of spread of disease in the district
(f) Rural ambulance services
(g) Primary health care services
(h) Vector control
(i) Environmental sanitation
(j) Health education
3. Water Services: The provision and maintenance of water supplies
4. Road services: Construction and rehabilitation of maintenance of roads not under the responsibility of government
5. Other services such as
(a) Crop, animal and fisheries husbandry extension services
(b) Human resource management and development
(c) Recurrent and development budgets
(d) District statistical services
(e) District planning
(f) Local government development planning
(g) Land administration
(h) Land surveying
(i) Physical planning
(j) Forests and wetland
(k) Licensing of produce buying
(l) Trade licenses
(m) Trade development services
(n) Commercial inspectorate
(o) Co-operative development
(p) Industrial relations
(q) Social rehabilitation
(r) Labour matters
(s) Probation and welfare
(t) Street children and orphans
(u) Women in development
(v) Community development
(w) Youth affairs
(x) Cultural affairs
Functions and Services, which District Councils may devolve to Sub-county Council;
1. Provision of nursery and Primary education
2. Provision of agricultural ancillary filed services
3. Provision and control of soil erosion and protection of local wetlands
4. Control of local hunting and fishing
5. Provision of
(a) Hygiene services and health and health units other than health centers
(b) Adult education
(c) Community based health care services
6. The provision and Management of ferries
7. The provision and measures to prevent and contain food shortages, including relief of work
8. Markets establishment, management and collection of revenue
9. The establishment, control and management of recreation grounds, open spaces and parks
10. The making, altering, diversion and maintenance of works, paths, culverts, bridges, road drains
and water courses
11. Measures requiring owners and occupiers of land of premises to close and keep free from vegetation any road adjoining their land or premises
12. The enforcement of
(a) Standards of buildings and standards of maintenance of buildings
(b) Proper methods for the disposal of refuse
13. The control of trading centers, markets and landing sites and the carrying on the local industries and the organization and encouragement of local trade
14. The provision of community development schemes as may be approved by the District Council
15. The maintenance of community roads
16. Protection and maintenance of local water resources
17. Maintenance of community infrastructure
Functions of Administrative Unit Councils;
At county level;
1. To advise area Members of Parliament on the matters pertaining to the county
2. At the County and Parish levels to resolve problems or disputes referred to it by relevant Sub-County or village councils
3. Resolve problems identified at that level
4. To monitor the delivery of services within its area of jurisdiction
5. Assist in maintenance of laws, order and security
At the Parish and Village Executive Committee;
1. Assists in implementation of law, order and security
2. Initiate, encourage, support and participate in self help projects and mobilize people, material and technical assistance
3. At the Village level, vet and recommend persons in the area who should be recruited into the armed forces,
4. Serve as a communication Channel between Government, District and the people in the area
5. Generally monitor projects and other activities undertaken by the Government, Local Governments and NGOs in their area. [4]
SOURCE(S) OF FINANCE FOR UGANDA LOCAL GOVERNMENT
The sources of finance for local government In Uganda can be broadly classified into external (revenue derived from central government) and internal (local government own revenue) and these are discussed below.
External Sources:
In Uganda, local governments receive a number of central grants in addition to locally mobilized revenues. These are designed to achieve vertical and horizontal equity as well as local autonomy. “Clause 1 of Article 193 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda, 1995 states that for any given year, local governments are to receive three grants namely Unconditional, Conditional and Equalization grants”.[5] Clauses 2-4 of article 193 define what is meant by each of these.
Unconditional grants are defined as the minimum grant that shall be paid to local governments to run decentralized services and are calculated based on the costs of running those services.
Conditional grants on the other hand consist of monies paid to local governments to finance programs agreed upon between the central government and the local governments and expended for the purposes for which they are made and in accordance with the conditions agreed upon. Evident within this law is the need for the center and local governments to arrive at a consensus through negotiations. Conditional grants have constituted about 80% of the transfers from central to local government.
Equalization Grant refers to money to be paid to local governments for giving subsidies or making special provisions for the least developed districts; and shall be based on the degree to which a local government is lagging behind the national average standard for a particular service. [Clause 4 of Article 193 of the 1995 Constitution (elaborated on in Section 84 of the Local Government Act of 1997)[5]
Equalization is the desire by the central government to provide extra funds to those local governments whose revenue raising capacities are weak and expenditure needs great (as compared to other local Governments) to enable them provide a “minimum” level of service to their constituents.
The main vehicle for channeling these funds to those "needy" local governments is the Equalization Grant.
Internal Sources:
The Local Governments Act, 1997 outlines the sources of local governments revenues as consisting of graduated tax, market dues, property tax, licenses and permits, vehicle parking fees, user-charges, agency fees and other revenues which may be prescribed and approved by the Minister responsible for Local Governments.
In practice, district councils collect revenues from graduated tax, market dues, licenses and permits, and other own sources.
Graduated tax is the single most important source of local revenue. Between 1995/96 and 1997/98, the GT has been contributing close to above 80 % of own revenues of most district.
Market dues are the second most important source of local revenue. For the period 1995/96 to 1997/98, market dues have been accounting for less than 10 % of local revenues of most districts. On a national average, the market dues' contribution to local revenue was 18 % in 1994/95 but declined to about 7 % in 1997/98.
Other Taxes Licenses and permits is the third single important source of own revenue after the graduated tax and market dues. They have, on average, been contributing about 4 % of the local revenue of most local governments.
Property tax and fees from taxi, bus and lorry parks are virtually non-existent in almost all districts. [6]
Control of Local Government
Uganda has been pursuing a major decentralization programme since the late 1980s. A highly centralized state is gradually turning into a decentralized one following the transfer of powers, functions and services from central government to local councils.
Owing this, the control of local government in Uganda is to a very large extent minimal and this is evident in the way the legal framework addressed decentralization in that country. The Constitution sets the following as the tenets of Uganda’s decentralization:
1. The state shall be guided by the principle of decentralization and devolution of governmental functions and powers to the people at appropriate levels where they can best manage and direct their own affairs.
2. The system shall be such as to ensure that functions, powers and responsibilities are devolved and transferred to local government units in a coordinated manner.
3. Decentralization shall be a principle applying to all levels of local government and in particular, from higher to lower local government units to ensure people’s participation and democratic control in decision making.
4. The system shall be such as to ensure the full realization of democratic governance at all local government levels.
5. There shall be established for each local government unit a sound financial base with reliable sources of revenue.
6. Appropriate measures shall be taken to enable local government units to plan, initiate and execute policies in respect of all matters affecting the people within their jurisdiction.
7. Persons in the service of local government shall be employed by the local governments.
8. The local governments shall oversee the performance of persons employed by government to provide services in their areas and monitor the provision of government services or the implementation of projects in their areas.[7]
The rationale for decentralization in Uganda was political and the main consideration leading to the decentralization that is being implemented was the need to restore democracy and return power to the people.
However, because conditional grants have constituted about 80% of the transfers from central to local government, local governments do not have the power (that was supposedly devolved from the center) to finance programs according to their own priorities. Local government autonomy is directly bound up with their financial viability such that poorer local councils are under much control from the center than richer ones.
Insufficient capacity at local levels also inhibited the local governments to plan and deliver services using locally generated revenue and transfers from the central government. Inadequate capacity coupled with strict central government accountability requirements meant that even the resources that were appropriately utilized could not be accounted for properly within the stipulated time-frame. For instance, there are at least 26 conditional grants that have to be operated on separate accounts, and are also to be accounted for separately by local government. The accountability requirement has been very challenging and in many cases the local governments cannot comply and have had to miss subsequent disbursements as a consequence.
Also the central government asserts some informal control on local government in the form of advices, circulars, memorandum and minimum standard of performance of functions.
Conclusion
The purpose of this paper was to examine the nature and characteristics of Uganda’s system of local governance, present the local government structure, understand the functional responsibility, discuss the legal framework and examine the nature of intergovernmental relations. Uganda has developed a local government system based on the constitution and an elaborate Local Governments Act. The local council structures described in this paper are Uganda’s primary institutions for the promotion of good governance, increased people’s participation and improved service delivery.
The peculiarities of the Ugandan experience are worth bearing in mind. Political commitment and boldness has no doubt been the underlying factor for the success of the decentralization and local governance model in Uganda. However it must be emphasized that this is a process evolving out of a historical system that had been formalized in 1900.
Political participation in local affairs has been demanded by Ugandans for a long period and expressed through various political actions. It is worth noting that the democratic decentralization of local government in Uganda is very much a home grown reform rather than the imported.
Therefore, Uganda’s local government system, though complex but unique, guarantees more democratic participation at the grassroots.
Reference:
Barbara barungi, (2006) Decentralization and Local Government: Towards a Home Grown Solution in Uganda,
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