In 2016, the NRM government stated its aspirations in transforming the Ugandan society from a low-income society to a competitive middle-income country. Today, we assess the extent to which three ministries and one agency have met the targets set in the manifesto in 2016
The Ministry of Local Government committed to implementing several interventions in fulfilment of the NRM Manifesto commitments and presidential directives during the period of 2016-2020. The interventions fall largely under the following key manifesto commitments;
- Strengthening security, good governance and democracy.
- Tourism and industry.
- Lands and housing.
Along the way, some challenges were also encountered. This presentation touches on both the achievements and the challenges encountered.
COMMITMENTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS
Commitment; Creation of new LGs and administrative units.
Achievement; In a bid to take services closer to the people, the ministry has operationalised 23 newly created districts since FY 2016/17.
Commitment; Improve administration at sub-county level and strengthen service delivery by constructing offices at sub-county/town council level.
Achievement; The ministry has provided funds for the construction of offices for 213 town councils and 17 sub-county offices. This will strengthen the institution of local governments in those areas.
Commitment; Train and equip the local council courts.
Achievement; In order to strengthen the LC courts and ensure that justice is delivered effectively at the lower local government level, MoLG has; developed the local council courts handbook.Trained all local council courts throughout the country to deliver justice within their jurisdiction.
Commitment; Induction and equipping of new councillors with leadership skills.
Achievement; MoLG has conducted induction of new councillors at the district, municipal council, division, town council and sub-county levels throughout the country and reviewed the standard rules of procedure for local governments.
Commitment; Enhanced inspection of local governments.
Achievement; All districts and municipalities have been regularly inspected. Consequently, the performance of the LGs have improved and, as a result, in FY 2017/18, 10% of the LGs had qualified opinions by the Auditor General, but dropped to 8% in FY 18/19.
Commitment; Procure 30 vehicles for inspection of LGs.
Achievement; In order to strengthen the core mandate of the ministry, of inspection, the ministry, over the five years, has procured 30 vehicles for this purpose. These regular inspections have resulted in improved performance of the LGs, this is evidenced by increased number of unqualified reports by OAG. The ministry also intends to get funds to procure 41 vehicles for mayors, seven vehicles for chairpersons of new districts.
Commitment; Sustainable financing of local governments by streamlining collection of park user fees.
Achievement; In order to create harmony between the private sector and the LGs involved in park collection fees, the ministry prepared a statutory instrument to guide collection of tax and bus fees. It is ready for tabling in Parliament and implementation.
Commitment; Improving the collection and management of local revenue by simplifying the registration of businesses.
Achievement; The ministry supported four municipalities — Jinja, Kiira, Lugazi and Mukono. Revenue increased by 300% i.e. Jinja Central Division revenue increased from sh1.5b in 2016/17 to sh5b in 2018/19. Issuance/renewal of trading licence turnaround time reduced from three days to 25 minutes. Reduced tax administration costs by 80%. We intend to roll out the programme to more municipalities.
Commitment; Improve efficiency of the local governments and reducing costs of doing business by training LG staff on their roles.
Achievement; The ministry has recruited over 40 staff within various specialties to inspect, monitor and offer guidance to local governments in the various fields for effective and efficient implementation of government programmes.
Commitment; Construction and rehabilitation of community access roads.
Achievement; Projects under MoLG (CAAIP, PRELNOR) constructed or rehabilitated 18,000km of community access roads. Additionally, local governments continue to invest in rehabilitation of over 120,000km of district and community access roads.
Commitment; Implementation of the presidential initiative to promote agro-industrialisation for local economic development. (LED).
Achievement; The ministry has prepared Agri-LED Programme as a national initiative with a three-year pilot phase in Rwenzori region. The Agri-LED initiative prioritises infrastructure development, tourism, production, marketing, human capital development and public-private partnerships (PPPs).
Commitment; Industrial hubs in 19 zones across the country.
Achievement; The ministry has worked with the State House to identify land for establishment of industrial hubs in 19 zones. These industrial hubs will comprise of four components i.e.skilling facility; common user production facility and training; agro-processing facility and a four-acre model demonstration site.
