scholarly journals Driving up Standards: Civil Service Management and Decentralization: Case Study of Uganda

2012 ◽  
pp. 75-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lazarus Nabaho
Keyword(s):  
Human Capital ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Human Resource ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Service Management ◽  
Civil Service ◽  
Operating Side ◽  
Attraction And Retention ◽  
National Governments

There is a consensus that decentralization by devolution leads to improved service delivery, but debate on the appropriate type of personnel arrangements for delivering decentralized services is far from over. Put differently, the discourse on whether civil service management should be decentralized or devolved still rages on. Little wonder that countries which started off with decentralized civil service management models in the 1990s are currently centralizing some aspects of personnel management while others are having centralized and decentralized personnel arrangements operating side by side in sub-national governments. The paper argues that civil service management should be decentralized whenever a country chooses the path of decentralization by devolution. Using Uganda’s example, the paper highlights two major challenges of managing the civil service under separate personnel arrangements: civil service appointments devoid of merit, and the perennial failure to attract and retain qualified human resource. The paper presents proposals on how to ensure meritocracy in appointments and how to bolster attraction and retention of human capital in local governments.

scholarly journals Recentralization of local government chief administrative officers appointments in Uganda: Implications for downward accountability

2013 ◽  
pp. 17-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lazarus Nabaho
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Human Resource ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Service Management ◽  
Civil Service ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Constitutional Amendment ◽  
Chief Administrative Officers ◽  
The Right ◽  
National Governments

The Uganda Constitution of 1995 spelt out the principle of decentralization by devolution. Accordingly, from 1995 to 2005, district local governments had a dejure mandate to hire and fire all categories of civil servants through their respective district service commissions (DSCs). Following the Constitutional amendment in September 2005, the right to hire and fire district chief administrative officers (CAOs) reverted to central government. Critics of recentralization of CAO appointments contend that the shift in the policy and legislation for managing CAOs runs contrary to the principles of decentralization by devolution. This paper argues that recentralization of CAOs has confused reporting, reduced the autonomy of sub-national governments in civil service management, undermined accountability of CAOs to elected councils, and shifted the loyalty of CAOs from local governments with and for which they work to central government that appoints and deploys them. To deepen accountability in local governments, the paper advocates for decentralization of CAO appointments, but for participation of central government in recruitment of CAOs within the confines of a separate personnel system. It further calls for a rethinking of the current call by the 9th Parliament to recentralize human resource in health in local governments owing to accountability challenges of managing the civil service in sub-national governments under an integrated personnel system.

Africa’s Evolving Career Civil Service Systems: Three challenges—State Continuity, Efficient Service Delivery and Accountability

2002 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 373-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ladipo Adamolekun
Keyword(s):  
Service Delivery ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Civil Service ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Service Systems ◽  
Explanatory Factors ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Merit System ◽  
Ssa Countries

This article examines the crisis of the career civil service systems in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries in the 1990s against the background of the progressive abandonment of the key features of the Weberian bureaucratic models inherited by the countries at independence in the 1960s. After analysing the major explanatory factors for the crisis (adoption of one-party systems, advent of military governments and the triumph of patronage over the merit system) and the consequent decay of the institutions in many countries, the efforts made to rehabilitate the institutions in the 1990s are assessed. The assessment pays particular attention to the two strong developmental trends of the decade: simultaneous establishment of functioning market-friendly economies and functioning democratic governments. The article concludes by proposing the redesign of Africa’s career civil service systems with a view to addressing three key challenges that are critical to achieving and sustaining functioning market economies and functioning democracies: state continuity, efficient service delivery and accountability of the governors to the governed. Specific changes to the career civil service systems that are proposed include, among others, clear separation of political from career appointments; the introduction or increased use of contract appointments at managerial and technical professional levels (as a transitional arrangement); and de-linking local governments and parastatals from the civil service. The critical importance of an enabling sociopolitical and economic environment for a civil service capable of tackling the three challenges is also emphasized.

scholarly journals Adapting Public Sector Services to Local Delivery

2012 ◽  
Vol 17 (Special Edition) ◽  
pp. 359-385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ishrat Husain
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Business Processes ◽  
Civil Service ◽  
Fiscal Decentralization ◽  
Education And Health ◽  
Number Of Factors ◽  
Management Policies

This article describes the local government system established in the 2001 Devolution Plan and its evolution over the period 2002-07, with a focus on two essential public services, education and health. We believe that the devolution of service delivery functions, delegation of financial powers, decentralization of authority, and deconcentration of executive powers, can, together, lead to better accountability of results and, hence, to improved public service delivery to the poor and marginalized. The Devolution Plan made inroads toward these goals, particularly in education, but their achievement was incomplete due to a number of factors, among those incomplete fiscal decentralization, limited targeting of backward areas, and centralizing tendencies of the provincial departments and civil service. Recommendations are offered on how to further develop the local government system more generally, with an eye towards increasing accountability and improving coordination both across local governments and between tiers. For this, complementary reforms to simplify business processes and revamp human resource management policies are needed; introducing a district level civil service is among the suggested changes. The article concludes with detailed recommendations on improving the decentralized delivery of education and health services.

scholarly journals Financial Autonomy as an Aid to Rural Development: A Study of Isoko North Local Government Area of Delta State

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 63-72
Author(s):  
Egware O.N. ◽  
Akporien O.F. ◽  
Otuya S.
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Rural Development ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Survey Research ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Government Area ◽  
State Governments ◽  
Financial Autonomy ◽  
Effective Administration

Lack of financial autonomy and undue interference by state governments have been identified as some of the impediments to effective administration of local governments in Nigeria. To this end, this study was carried out to examine the effect of financial autonomy on rural development using Isoko North Local Government Area as a case study. The study adopted a survey research design; hence, data were collected through the use of questionnaires administered to the management and staff of selected departments in Isoko North Local Government Council. The findings of the study indicate that financial autonomy will contribute positively to rural development and service delivery in the area of study, and recommends that local governments should be made financially autonomous to promote rural development and enhance better service delivery.

scholarly journals Making Sanitation and Hygiene a Human Security Issue: The case of Nyamagabe District, Rwanda

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kwizera, Maurice Kwizera, Maurice ◽  
Lambert Karangwa ◽  
Jeannette Murekatete ◽  
Gilbert Rukundo Mutabaruka ◽  
Jean Paul Mbarushimana ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Security Issue ◽  
Sanitation And Hygiene ◽  
Government Leadership ◽  
Working Together ◽  
Practical Experiences ◽  
National Governments

This case study was developed to inform subsequent research and analysis of local government leadership and prioritisation of sanitation and hygiene (S&H) in East Africa. Consolidated learning from across the three countries involved can be found in the Sanitation Learning Hub (SLH) Learning Brief: Strengthening sub-national systems for area-wide sanitation and hygiene. From late 2020 to early 2021, the SLH collaborated with local government actors and development partners from three sub-national areas to explore ways of increasing local government leadership and prioritisation of S&H to drive progress towards area-wide S&H. For some time, local government leadership has been recognised as key to ensuring sustainability and scale, it is an important component of the emerging use of systems strengthening approaches in the sanitation sector. It is hoped that this work will provide practical experiences to contribute to this thinking. Three case studies were developed to capture local government and development partners’ experiences supporting sub-national governments increase their leadership and prioritisation of S&H in Siaya County (Kenya), Nyamagabe District (Rwanda), and Moyo District (Uganda), all of which have seen progress in recent years. The development partners involved were UNICEF in Kenya, WaterAid in Rwanda, and WSSCC/ Uganda Sanitation Fund in Uganda. The cases were then analysed through three online workshops facilitated with staff from the local governments, central government ministries and development partners involved to explore them in further detail, review experiences and identify levers and blockages to change. Lessons from the workshops are documented in the SLH learning brief mentioned above. This is the case study developed by Nyamagabe District and WaterAid documenting their experiences and reflections from working together to increase prioritisation of S&H in Nyamagabe District, Rwanda.

scholarly journals Organisational citizenship behaviour and service delivery in urban local governments in Uganda

2021 ◽  
pp. 24-39
Author(s):  
Wilberforce Turyasingura ◽  
Lazarus Nabaho
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Service ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Performance Culture ◽  
Legal Frameworks ◽  
National Governments

The quality of service delivery in decentralised local governments (LGs) in Uganda remains largely unsatisfactory, despite central government’s efforts to improve resource allocation and develop supporting legal frameworks. This has been partly linked to the extent to which LG staff exhibit ‘organisational citizenship behaviour’ (OCB). Extant literature has not given adequate attention to OCB in the decentralisation discourse, especially in sub-national governments within developing countries such as Uganda. This paper tackles the issue of OCB among LG employees and its relationship to service delivery by addressing the following questions: (a) what is the level of OCB among LG employees and (b) to what extent do various dimensions of OCB relate to the quality of service delivery in the decentralised LG context? The study is a cross-sectional survey of 165 LG staff in central Uganda. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. Using content analysis and correlational analysis, the study found that OCB among LG employees is too low, and that higher levels of OCB are associated with improved service delivery. The study recommends that LGs should prioritise effective leadership and supervision, a client-centred performance culture, and empowerment of staff in order to promote OCB among employees and thereby enhance service delivery to local communities.

A Holistic Approach to Accelerated Attainment of Open-Defecation Free Status in Moyo District

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Katwere Ssemwanga ◽  
Dominic Lomongin Aballa ◽  
Steven Amoko ◽  
Sheila Nduhukire
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Sanitation And Hygiene ◽  
Government Leadership ◽  
Working Together ◽  
Practical Experiences ◽  
National Governments

This case study was developed to inform subsequent research and analysis of local government leadership and prioritisation of sanitation and hygiene (S&H) in East Africa. Consolidated learning from across the three countries involved can be found in the Sanitation Learning Hub (SLH) Learning Brief: Strengthening sub-national systems for area-wide sanitation and hygiene. From late 2020 to early 2021, the SLH collaborated with local government actors and development partners from three subnational areas to explore ways of increasing local government leadership and prioritisation of S&H to drive progress towards area-wide S&H. For some time, local government leadership has been recognised as key to ensuring sustainability and scale and it is an important component of the emerging use of systems strengthening approaches in the sanitation sector. It is hoped that this work will provide practical experiences to contribute to this thinking. Three case studies were developed to capture local government and development partners’ experiences supporting sub-national governments increase their leadership and prioritisation of S&H in Siaya County (Kenya), Nyamagabe District (Rwanda), and Moyo District (Uganda), all of which have seen progress in recent years. The development partners involved were UNICEF in Kenya, WaterAid in Rwanda, and WSSCC/ Uganda Sanitation Fund in Uganda. The cases were then analysed through three online workshops facilitated with staff from the local governments, central government ministries and development partners involved to explore them in further detail, review experiences and identify levers and blockages to change. Lessons from the workshops are documented in the SLH learning brief mentioned above. This is the case study developed by Moyo District and WSSCC/Uganda Sanitation Fund documenting their experiences and reflections from working together to increase prioritisation of S&H in Moyo District, Uganda.

scholarly journals Civil Service Management in Devolved Government: Reconciling Local Accountability and Career Incentives in Pakistan

2012 ◽  
Vol 17 (Special Edition) ◽  
pp. 425-445
Author(s):  
Musharraf Rasool Cyan
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Change ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Service Management ◽  
Civil Service ◽  
Fiscal Decentralization ◽  
Decentralization Reform ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Career Incentives ◽  
Administrative Decentralization ◽  
Made In

This paper looks at the case of Pakistan’s decentralization reform of 2001–09 and its impact on civil service management. A key point made in this paper is that the relationship between organizational change and civil service is, by no means, unidirectional. The issues are viewed in the context of decentralization, its opportunities, and outcomes for efficiency and equity. We then evaluate whether administrative decentralization has enhanced or diminished the potential for political and fiscal decentralization for service delivery in Pakistan.

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