By Wabuteya MacMillan
In a strict observation, governance issues in Uganda and most of the developing countries around the globe, tend to affect technical policies and subsequently leading to poor service delivery in various ways.
According to the World Bank, in 1993, governance was defined as the method through which power is exercised in the management of a country’s political, economic and social resources for development.
Thus, in a lay man’s understanding governance refers to the processes and systems by which organizations, societies, or groups are managed and controlled. For all that to happen, it has to involve decision-making, the distribution of power, accountability, and the establishment of rules and procedures to guide behavior in order to achieve the set objectives of an individual country, say for example, Uganda.
Good governance therefore ensures total transparency, fairness, and effectiveness in achieving the goals and objectives. This, therefore, a need for a mutual relationship in sectors like health, economic systems and good governance so that, they can foster economic development that is proportional to the country’s four principles of: Patriotism, Pan-Africanism, Socio-economic transformation and democracy.
In the global perspective, there are countries that have attained middle class income and are believed to be those countries that have regulated and realigned governance with technical strategic recommendations issued by experts.
The World Bank Middle Income Countries are a diverse group by size, population and income level, and are home to 75 percent of the world’s population and 62 percent of the world’s poor.
It’s in this, that the Middle Income Countries represent about one-third of the global Growth Domestic Product (GDP) and are major engines of global growth. For the current 2024 fiscal year, low-income economies are defined as those with a GNI per capita, calculated using the World Bank Atlas method of $1,135 or less in 20223.
According to the World Bank Country and Lending Groups, lower middle-income economies are those with a GNI per capita between $1,136 and $4,465; upper middle-income economies are those with a Gross National Income (GNI) per capita between $4,466 and $13,845; high-income economies are those with a GNI per capita of $13,846 or more.
In economics, gross national income (GNI) is the total income earned by a country’s people and businesses, no matter where it was earned. GNI is an alternative to gross domestic product (GDP) as a measure of wealth. It calculates income instead of output.
In Uganda, governance has taken a twist to caring interests of the a few people in its own cycle and yet World Bank provides increasingly tailored services—financial products (loans, guarantees, risk management products) and knowledge and advisory services (including on a reimbursable basis)—to support Middle Income Countries in their global roles, to universally address their second-generation reform challenges, and to facilitate knowledge exchange and South-South cooperation.
Governance space in Uganda
Political landscape:- Uganda operates under a presidential system of governance with a strong executive branch led by an elected president, however, concerns have been raised about the concentration of power in the presidency and the limited checks and balances on the executive power.
In Uganda, almost every top public servant is appointed by the president as his own referees to serve the interest of the president, for example, the electoral commission.
It’s against this backyard that the elite are grumblingly asking why these positions cannot be appointed by the various commissions in the country such as; the Judicial Service Commission and Public Service Commission who will do it on merit while following the commission’s guidelines so that officers appointed will serve the entire citizenry without fear or favour?
Democratic processes: Uganda has held regular elections since the introduction of multi-party politics in 2005. While elections are held, there have been criticisms of irregularities, including allegations of voter bribery and intimidation, lack of transparency, and limited space for opposition voices and freedom of expression for all.
A big question is those who are appointed into the top echelons of Uganda’s government agencies, are they aware of shrinking space in our country’s democracy and human rights observation? Uganda as a country has faced criticism from Western countries for human rights abuses including restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly. There have been reports of harassment and persecution of journalists, human rights’ activists, and political opponents. Thus, begging another question: “Was Uganda ready for multi-party dispensation?”
Corruption remains a significant governance challenge in Uganda, it has affected various sectors including health, education, works, and agriculture to name but a few and this has resulted in poor service delivery and business operations. Efforts to combat corruption have been made but more efforts still need to be done to strengthen it further by instituting anti-corruption institutions and enforcing accountability measures.
Though Uganda is touted for ushering in decentralization as one way of ensuring service delivery, the country to-date still grapples with challenges of delivering essential services such as healthcare, education, and infrastructure, particularly to the rural areas and this is caused by weak governance structures, and corruption.
However, it should be noted that decentralization has led to the implementation of some of the reforms such as devolution of power from the central to lower authorities. It has also led to increased local decision-making and community participation, there are concerns about capacity constraints, accountability issues, and disparities in service delivery among the regions in the country particularly those in the northern hemisphere.
This also prompts another question as to why the Central Government spends a lot of resources to a few institutions like the State House and Parliament where only a few individuals enjoy at the expense of the majority? Look at Uganda critically, it is one of the richest countries in the world endowed with prestigious natural resources but yet it’s one among the 42 Heavily Indebted Poor Countries like; Malawi, Chad, Benin, Burundi, and Burkina Faso among others because of bad governance.
The writer is an MBA Student at Busitema University
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