Decentralisation and local government performance in Uganda: a case of Mbale municipal council.

Abstract

The study examined the effect of decentralization and local government performance of Mbale Municipal Council. The objectives of the study included: investigate the influence of decentralization infrastructural development; examine the extent to which decentralization affected the provision of efficient services; establish the effect of decentralization on policy implementation, and; analyse the effect of decentralization on timely accountability in Mbale Municipal Council. A cross sectional research design with both qualitative and quantitative techniques was used in the study. A sample of 292 respondents that was arrived at basing on Solven’s sampling formula was used in the study. The quantitative findings of this study were analyzed using SPSS v 23, and a regression was used to establish the effect of relationships between decentralization and local government performance. Qualitative data was interpreted using content analysis. Study findings revealed that there was an improvement in the performance, but, not to people’s expectations. That is to say, improvements in the administrative, fiscal, and political aspects of decentralization had a positive influence on infrastructural development (R2 = 0.609), efficiency in services delivered (R2 = 0.538), policy implementation R2 = 0.628, and timely accountability (R2 = 0.689). Therefore, as measures to improve on local government performance, the study came up with the Decentralized Sustainable Consensus model of decentralization, that serves as a framework to all stakeholders of municipalities, showing the approaches like mind-set that will ensure effective and efficient service delivery to people’s expectations. The study concluded that, for effective end results, people should be involved in decision-making so that they make a choice of their service and how it should be delivered. The study recommended that, to guarantee effective service delivery leaders both political and civil servants, in process of carrying out their responsibilities be held accountable as agents of the people who should be the principal as philosophized in this study. This will in turn bring about a sustainable development through enhanced consensus as projected in the Decentralized Sustainable Consensus Model.