The Local Government Council’s Scorecard Initiative (LGCSCI)

By Jonas Mbabazi

Research Officerjmbabazi@acode-u.org

ACODE

• ACODE is an independent public policy research and advocacy think tank registered in Uganda with operations in the Eastern and Southern Africa sub-region.

• Registered in 1999 as anNGO• ACODE is non-partisan and independent.

VisionTo become a “premier public policy research and advocacy think tank working for social justice and good governance in Africa.”

Mission • To make public policies work for people.”

Programmes at ACODE

• Trade, Innovations and Biotechnology • Environmental Democracy Programme (EDP)• Peace and Democracy – Local Government Councils Scorecard

Initiative(LGCSCI)– Citizens’ Budget Trucking and Information Centre

(CBTIC)

For details visit: www.acode-u.org

Local Government Councils Scorecard Initiative (LGCSCI)

• Launched in 2009• Implemented by ACODE in partnership

ULGA. • The initiative was first implemented in the

10 districts in 2009, 26 districts in 2011 and will be covering 30 districts in 2014.

Objective of LGCSCI

• LGCSCI mainly aims at strengthening government efforts in deepening democracy and service delivery in decentralised entities.

• It focuses on building capacity of local government leaders to deliver on their mandate and strengthening citizens’ demand for effective public service delivery and accountability.

Project Components • The in initiative is being implemented

through a number of Components including: • Annual assessment of the performance of

local government councils; • Publication and dissemination of annual

score-cards; • Capacity building , Outreach and Advocacy.• Local Government SMS Platform• Intensive Dissemination

Who is targeted by the Scorecard?

The LGCSCI assessment focuses on : • the district council ; • the district chairpersons ; • the district speakers ;• individual councilors.

Roles of the District Council

• The level of implementation of the Legislative function

• Accountability to citizens • Planning and budgeting. • Monitoring service delivery in the district

by the different standing committees

Roles of the District Chairperson,

• Political leadership

• Participates in legislation for the district

• Regular contacts with the electorate.

• Initiating or participating in development projects in the district

• Conducting monitoring of Services .

District Speaker

• Presiding and preservation of order in council

• Attending council meetings of Lower local governments.

• Contact with the electorate and;

• Monitoring at least half of service delivery units in the electoral areas they represent in council.

District Councillor

• Participating in legislation in council

• Attending council meetings of Lower local governments.

• Contact with the electorate and;

• Monitoring service delivery units in the electoral areas they represent in council.

Methodology • Literature Review • One-on-one interviews with district

leaders • Focus Group Discussions • Verification visits to SDUs

Performance of LG Leaders

• Refer to the report

Observations in Implementation of the Project

• Decentralisation Policy Vs. Practice • Inadequate Financing of LGs• Indicative Planning Figures by MoFPED• Budget Cuts • Local Revenue

• Disengaged Citizenry in the first years of the project

• Elected leaders had little or no knowledge of their roles and responsibilities

• Poor Record Keeping • Politicians Vs. Good Leaders

Observations Cont…• Weak performance in Legislation

• Quality of debates • Level of participation• Motions and Petition

• Intra-Local Government Conflicts (personal and administrative)

• Weak downward political accountability • Inadequate Staffing (56% for DLGs and 57% MCs staffing

level, and 39% at strategic level )– 80% of the filled posts are mainly administrative and support

staff. – Staff ceilings – Failure to attract and retain skilled and experienced manpower

What has the project done?• Research and Publication of findings• Dissemination of findings at various Levels • Capacity Building of local leaders – Trainings (LCV chairpersons, Speakers, Clerks to

councils, RDCs, Information Officers and CAOs)– Councillors’ Diary

• Capacity building for local CSOs• Policy outreach and Advocacy on LG challenges

through, ULGA, MoLG, and MoFPED• Conflict resolution • Peer-to- Peer Visits

Intensive Dissemination • Key message: “Get Involved!”• Focus : 20 Districts• A citizen’s calendar for 2013 and 2014 giving

information on:– Scorecard performance– Roles of councilors– National minimum standards of service delivery for key service

sectors– Roles and responsibilities of citizens

• Community meetings• Community champions (the local opinion leaders • Regional Radio talk shows

SMS Platform

• Short Code : 7300• Focus: 20 Districts• Conduct community Meetings to popularize

the platform

Media Reporting • Has not picked up on some of service delivery

and governance issues highlighted in the annual reports

• Inaccurate reporting • Ignored Corruption scandals at LG level – Shoddy work, Procurement etc…

• Do not have specific programmes to engage the citizenry

END