Service Delivery with More Districts in Uganda : Fiscal Challenges and Opportunities for Reforms
Ugandan decentralization efforts of the 1990s represented an unusually authentic and powerful local government reform, compared to similar efforts pursued in many other low-income countries. However, over time the changing interests of the central...
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| Format: | Public Expenditure Review |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
Washington, DC
2013
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/06/18018983/service-delivery-more-districts-uganda-fiscal-challenges-opportunities-reforms-public-expenditure-review http://hdl.handle.net/10986/16012 |
| Summary: | Ugandan decentralization efforts of the
1990s represented an unusually authentic and powerful local
government reform, compared to similar efforts pursued in
many other low-income countries. However, over time the
changing interests of the central agencies, dissatisfaction
with service outcomes, and the overall dynamics of the
country's governance resulted in the adoption of a
number of re-centralizing policies. The objective of this
report is to take stock of the fiscal and institutional
arrangements for service delivery by local governments in
the context of district proliferation and in view of recent
trends in national public finance, as well as to identify
policy options that could facilitate improved service
delivery. The report finds that, while district
proliferation has not had any major effect on public
finances so far, it may have serious adverse effects in the
future if the institutional structures and funding
mechanisms of district governments are not adjusted to the
new realities. Its effect on public expenditure has been
rather small since an increasing number of positions in
district governments remain vacant, and because a recent
bout of inflation has eroded their wage bills. Furthermore,
at present the average population of a district is roughly
equivalent to that of similar jurisdictions in other
countries. The report concludes with a number of
institutional and fiscal proposals designed to reduce this
risk and to improve value-for-money in service delivery more
generally. If Uganda manages to use district proliferation
as an opportunity to implement these changes, the resulting
fiscal savings and improvements in value-for-money would
make it much easier to cover the costs of that process. |
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