The Ugandan Journal of Management and Public Policy Studies

Volume 8 Number 1 September 2014

ISSN 2078 - 7 049

THE UGANDAN

JOURNAL
OF MANAGEMENT AND PUBLIC POLICY STUDIES

PAPERS
Political Decentralization and Service Delivery: Evidence from Agago District, Uganda
Peter Adoko Obicci
Democratic Deficits and Public Confidence in Public Institutions in Uganda: Implications of
Accountability on Public Confidence in the Uganda Local Government Institution
Michael Kiwanuka
Challenges to Policy Implementation in Uganda: Reflections on Politics and the State
Moses Khisa
Determinants of Tax Effort in Developing Countries: Empirical Evidence from Uganda
Agaba Samuel Bakehena and William Kaberuka
Identifying the Internal Environment Components Critical to Realizing the Planned
Performance of Micro-Finance Institutions in Uganda Milly Kwagala
The effect of Business Regulatory Standards on Export Trading by Small Enterprises: A
Comparative Analysis of Africa and Uganda Ahmed Kitunzi Mutunzi
State and Society Relations in Ugandas Politico-economic Transitions: Structures, Processes
and Outcomes of Governance Since 1986 Samson James Opolot

Volume 8 Number 1 September 2014

THE UGANDAN JOURNAL

OF MANAGEMENT
AND PUBLIC POLICY STUDIES
Volume 8 No.1, September 2014.

http://www.umi.ac.ug

The Ugandan Journal Of Management And Public Policy Studies

Editors and Members of the Editorial Advisory Board

Editors
Chief Editor: Dr. Proscovia Namubiru Ssentamu, Uganda Management Institute
Deputy Chief Editor: Dr. Sebastian Bigabwenkya, Uganda Management Institute
Managing Editor: Dr. Rose B. Namara, Uganda Management Institute

Editorial Advisory Board

Prof. Gelase Mutahaba, Department of Political Science and Public Administration,
University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Prof. Joy Kwesiga, Kabale University, Uganda
Prof. Grace Bantebya, School of Gender Studies, Makerere University, Uganda
Assoc. Prof. Yasin Olum, Department of Political Science and Public Administration,
Makerere University, Uganda
Prof. Mande W. Muyinda, Nkumba University, Uganda
Prof. Pamela Mbabazi, Mbarara University of Science & Technology, Uganda
Prof. Samson Opolot, Centre for Basic Research, Kampala, Uganda
Assoc. Prof. William Kaberuka, Makerere University Business School, Uganda
Dr. James L. Nkata, Director General, Uganda Management Institute, Uganda
Dr. Martyn Davies, Chief Executive Officer, Frontier Advisory, South Africa
Dr. John Mary Kauzya, UNDESA/DPADM, United States
Dr. Randhir Auluck, Conventry University, United Kingdom
Editorial Address: Uganda Management Institute (UMI), P.O.Box 20131, Kampala; Uganda.
Tel, 256-414-259722, Fax 256,414-259581; email: umijournal@gmail.com,
journal@umi.ac.ug, web: www.umi.ac.ug
Printed and bound by: Uganda Management Institute, Kampala
First Published 2010
ISSN: 2078-7049
Copyright: Uganda Management Institute (UMI). All rights reserved. With exception of fair
dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, no part of this
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photocopies for teaching purposes free of charge provided such copies are not resold.
Printed by Graphic Centre Ltd, Tel: 0703 441 414

ii

Introduction

Introduction
The Ugandan Journal of Management and Public Policy Studies is a multidisciplinary Journal
publishing a wide range of articles relating to public administration, management, leadership
and public policy, from empirical studies and theoretical orientations to practical application.
The Journal reviews books, essays, and research notes that are relevant to both scholars
and practitioners involved at all levels of administration and management from various
organizational forms including business firms, non-governmental organizations and public
institutions and individual networks.

Aim and scope

The Ugandan Journal of Management and Public Policy Studies is a scholarly Journal
published to scientifically address the problems, interests and concerns of managers and
intellectuals concerned with management science as a profession. It aims at improving the
understanding and practice of management. The Journal is an essential reading, publishing
articles from a wide range of authors, both well-established scholars and young scholars. Thus,
the Journal is an important resource for:
Management Development Institutions.
Social Science Faculties and Research Institutions.
Graduate students, teachers and researchers.
Civil service practitioners.
All those people interested in the practice of management and administration.
The Scope of the Journal covers fields of management, administration, and public policy.
Empirical and practitioner-oriented papers and reviews are welcome for the Journal.

iii

The Ugandan Journal Of Management And Public Policy Studies

New Editorial Advisory Board Members

We are happy to announce to our readership that the Editorial Advisory Board meeting of
07/07/2014 in accordance with section 3, subsection 3.4 of the Editorial Policies and Guidelines
approved new members to join the Editorial Advisory Board whose biography is detailed
below:
Dr. John-Mary Kauzya is a Ugandan born in 1957. He is Chief of Public Administration
Capacity Branch (PACB) of the Division for Public Administration and Development
Management (DPADM) in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) at the
United Nations Headquarters in New York where he has worked since July 1999. Prior to
joining the International Civil Service at the United Nations he taught at Makerere University
in Uganda and worked as the Deputy Director of Uganda Management Institute. He has
advised Governments of Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Angola, Benin, Cote
dIvoire, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, Liberia, Kenya, the Comoros, and Kosovo, on
governance and public administration and management.
Dr. Kauzya is a member of the Commission on International Accreditation of Public
Administration Education and Training Programs (CIAPA), a member of the International
Institute of Administrative Sciences (IIAS) Working Group on Administering Global
Governance, a member of the UNDESA/IASIA International Taskforce on standards
of excellence in public administration at local level, and has served as a member of the
International Taskforce on Internationalization of the International Public Management
Association for Human Resources (IPMA-HR). He is currently involved with the Africa Public
Sector Human Resource Managers Network (APS-HRMnet) and the African Association
for Public Administration and Management (AAPAM) in the effort to professionalize the
management of human resources in the public service in Africa. He is a Co-Chair of the
Governance for Development Advisory Board for the 2014 United Nations Public Service
Forum. In recognition of his work in Public Administration and Public Policy, he was awarded
the O.P DWIVEDI AWARD 2014 by the International Association of Schools and Institutes
of Administration (IASIA) for Outstanding Contribution to Public Administration and Public
Policy in the World.
He has widely written and published in various areas of governance and public administration.
His recent 6 papers includes:
i. Governance and Institutional Capacities for Sustainable Development: A Global
Perspective in Andrew Robertson, Rupert Jones-Perry & Anne Wolf: Governance
for Development: Towards Excellence in Global Public Service (Nexus Strategic
Partnership, London, 2014- specially produced for the United Nations Public Service
Forum, Day and Awards , Ceremony 2014)
ii. Towards Professionalism in Africas Public Service: Professionalising Human Resources
Management in the Public Sector in Demetrios Argyriades & Gerard Timsit (Eds):
Moving Beyond the Crisis: Reclaiming and reaffirming our common administrative space
(Bruylant, IIAS, Bruxelles, 2013)
iii. Facing the Challenges of Public Policy Leadership in Developing Countries during

iv

Introduction

Turbulent Times in Michiel S.de Vries & Geert Bouckaert: Training for Leadership,
(Bruylant, IIAS, Bruxelles, 2013,
iv. Enhancing Public Administration Effectiveness in Africa by Strengthening Local
Public Administration Leadership Capacity, in Michiel S.de Vries & Geert Bouckaert:
Training for Leadership, (Bruylant, IIAS, Bruxelles, 2013,
v. Strengthening Human Resources in the Public Service: Chapter iv of the World
Public Sector Report 2010, on Reconstructing Public Administration after Conflict
(UNDESA,ST/ESA/PAD/SER.E/135, NewYork, April 2010)
vi. Comparative Perspectives of the challenges and prospects of Civil Service Reforms
in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda in Andrew Massey (ed): International Handbook on
Civil Service Systems (Edward Elgar Publishing 2010)
Dr Randhir Auluck is a Principal Lecturer in International HRM at Coventry University
Business School. Prior to this, she held a number of roles in the UK Cabinet Office Agency
Centre for Management and Policy Studies including Head of International Projects Africa,
and in the National School of Government (a Cabinet Office Department) where she held
positions of Leadership Development Consultant and Head of Knowledge Strategy.
Randhir has acted as advisor and consultant to the OECD as well as to a number of national
governments including India, Bangladesh, Ethiopia and South Africa. She has presented papers
at various United Nations/UN-DP-UN-DESA forums. Her research work has been published
in a range of journals including Personnel Review, International Review of Administrative
Sciences, Industrial and Commercial Training, Leadership and Organisation Development
Journal and the British Journal of Social Work. The papers include;
Establishing Learning Needs (2014) in Designing, Delivering and Evaluating
Learning Needs, J. Stewart & P. Cureton (eds), CIPD: London
Developing Global Public Servants for Good Governance & Sustainable Development
(with R.Levin) (2008), in D. Argyriades (ed.) Global Governance & the Human Factor,
IIAS-UNDP.
She has front-line delivery experience both in local government as a qualified social worker
specialising in child protection and family work in Stoke in Coventry and in Southwark, and
in the voluntary sector, working with the homeless in Swansea.
Randhir received her PhD from Warwick Business School and her Masters in Social Policy and
Social Work from York University. She also holds other professional qualifications including
a Certificate in Journalistic Writing from the University of Warwick.
Randhir is a Trustee of SAHARA, a community-based organisation supporting
vulnerable Asian older people, a Justice of the Peace, and actively supports various other
community initiatives and project.

The Ugandan Journal Of Management And Public Policy Studies

Editorial Note
This publication of the Ugandan Journal of Management and Public Administration, 8 (1) is
one of the bi-annual issues of this Journal. It covers a broad spectrum of public administration,
management and leadership matters. The issue presents seven papers on matters concerning
finance management, political decentralization, financial deregulation, tax efforts, and
developmental state.
Obicci seeks to establish whether political decentralization improves service delivery.
The author reveals that political decentralization can improve the provision of service delivery,
but its improper implementation may reinforce poor service delivery. Using the factors of
decision making, participation, and accountability the paper unearths the complex interplay of
conditions that impact service delivery in a politically decentralized service delivery system.
The conditions include the need for massive collective involvement and the promise of private
benefits to the citizens. These conditions notwithstanding, he argues, political decentralization
can be used as an instrument to promote the provision of service delivery owing to its significant
effect on service delivery.
Kiwanuka demonstrates that there is a decline in confidence in public institutions in
developing countries such as Uganda. The institutions are riddled with democratic deficits in
their governance processes. Institutional governance reveals deficits such as deficiencies in
accountability systems. The author further argues that accountability practices, for example in
Uganda, have culminated into a downward trend of public confidence in Local Government
institutions. In addition, other key factors affecting public confidence in Local Government
institutions include: the widening gap between citizens preferences and services delivered;
the big social service backlogs; the mockery of citizens participation; and high levels of
corruption. To improve public confidence, Kiwanuka argues that developing countries should
demonstrate commitment to social accountability by strengthening the citizens voice and
support meaningful engagement of non-state actors alongside formal government systems.
Khisa argues that there is a gulf between policymaking and actual policy implementation
in Uganda. The author indicates that the root cause of this dichotomy is the failure of
government to build robust institutional capacity through a merit-based public system. To
qualify this claim, the author traces a recent history (of about three decades ago) of weak
policy implementation capacity in the politics of elite-inclusion or broad-base that started
in 1986 in Uganda. It is noted that while the politics of broad-base gave room to wider
participation and mass representation of the elite in politics, it only achieved modest progress
in institutionalizing policymaking power. In the authors view, the politics of broad-base
also engendered patronage politics and endemic corruption which have compromised building
institutional capacity to implement policies and programmes. Hence, the policy making and
implementation processes in Uganda have remained disjointed for the last three decades.
Bakehena and Kaberuka reveal that while the World Bank recommends that developing
countries institute tax reforms, some countries such as Uganda that have followed this
recommendation do not seem to have gained much. The authors establish that Ugandas tax
share of GDP has not only remained low and stagnant at about 12% but also not matched

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Editorial Note

expenditure demands, leading to fiscal deficits over the years. The tax efforts have been
significantly affected by the share of agriculture to GDP, GDP per capita, openness to trade,
and external debt stock. To improve the current undesirable situation, the authors recommend
that efforts can be put in agriculture investments through commoditizing the sector and hence
bringing it under the tax net; and revisiting the tax breaks and exemptions to certain industries
in order to retain only those that have a productive effect on the development of manufacturing
and service sectors.
Kwagala investigates the environmental components that are critical for microfinance
institutions to realize planned performance. Taking a case-study of Uganda, the author
uses data compiled from the massive closure of microfinance institutions that had ran into
a dysfunctional state. The analysis reveals that the components that critically affect the
realization of planned performance of a microfinance institution include ethical orientation
of the institution managers, the nature of the relationship that the managers keep with their
subordinates, and the level of authority given to employees to execute assigned responsibilities.
The author concludes that institutions have to improve on the internal supervision aspect of
management in a bid to enhance their performance.
Mutunzi argues that there is relationship between regulatory standards and the success of
export trade in an economy. Taking the case of exporting small and micro-enterprises (SMEs)
in Africa, the author triangulates some quantitative methods to draw a global comparative
analysis of business regulations. The author concludes that the number of export documents,
time (days) taken, and cost of export trading in African countries are some of the deterrent
factors to export trading among a substantial fraction of SMEs. Based upon this finding, the
need for persistent, diligent, deliberate and competitive deregulation of export trading by
reducing the number of export documents, time (days) and cost of exporting is identified.
Consequently, SMEs and economies in Africa can realize sustainable growth.
Opolot discusses the nature and dynamics of structures and processes of state and
society relations in Uganda and the political and economic outcomes in the country. Uganda
undertook notable political reforms during the pre-2006 period that included significant trends
towards decentralization, the return to multiparty political systems, and the development of
a progressive constitution. In the opinion of Opolot, most of these constitutional provisions
are now being reversed, and state structures in Uganda serve partisan interests. Opolot argues
that, for example, the elections in Uganda are mere pretences and a mockery of substantive
democratization. Moreover, he reasons that the independence of the three arms of the state is
simply pretentious and highly circumscribed by the ruling political party (NRM) that seems to
use them at will in legitimizing its hold onto power. He therefore concludes that in spite of the
considerable politico-administrative reforms in Uganda especially from 1986 to 2005, there
are indications of regressions in the quality of governance.

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Editorial Note

CONTENTS
Introduction .......................................................................................................................... iii

Aim and Scope ...................................................................................................................... iii

Editors Note...........................................................................................................................v

Political Decentralization and Service Delivery: Evidence from Agago District, Uganda
Peter Adoko Obicci ................................................................................................................. 1

Democratic Deficits and Public Confidence in Public Institutions in Uganda:

Implications of Accountability on Public Confidence in the Uganda Local Government
Institution
Michael Kiwanuka ................................................................................................................ 15

Challenges to Policy Implementation in Uganda: Reflections on Politics and the State

Moses Khisa ......................................................................................................................................28

Determinants of Tax Effort in Developing Countries: Empirical Evidence from Uganda

Agaba Samuel Bakehena and William Kaberuka .............................................................................44

Identifying the Internal Environment Components Critical to Realizing the Planned

Performance of Micro-Finance Institutions in Uganda

Milly Kwagala ..................................................................................................................................55

The effect of Business Regulatory Standards on Export Trading by Small Enterprises:

A Comparative Analysis of Africa and Uganda
Ahmed Kitunzi Mutunzi ....................................................................................................................75

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The Ugandan Journal Of Management And Public Policy Studies

State and Society Relations in Ugandas Politico-economic Transitions: Structures,

Processes and Outcomes of Governance Since 1986
Samson James Opolot ...............................................................................................................87

Call for Papers....................................................................................................................114

Manuscript submission Guidelines ..................................................................................115

Peter Adoko Obicci

Political Decentralization and Service Delivery: Evidence from Agago

District, Uganda
Peter Adoko Obicci
Ministry of Public Service, Uganda

Abstract
Does political decentralization improve the provision of service delivery? Many developing
countries have taken to political decentralization as an instrument of development that
plays a central role in increasing citizens involvement in policy development and decision
making as well as holding their leaders to account. However, the basis upon which it can
be relied upon to improve service delivery remains a big puzzle to many practitioners.
This study uses the factors of decision making, participation and accountability to
uncover how political decentralization can promote service delivery. Based on intensive
interviews with local stakeholders in ten sampled local governments in Agago District
in Northern Uganda as well as survey, the study uncovered a complex interplay of
conditions that impact service delivery in a political decentralization dispensation. The
results reveal that political decentralization can be used as an instrument to promote
the provision of service delivery. Furthermore, decentralization is shown to have had
significant effect on service delivery in the ten local governments examined in the study.
However, the study needs generalization on a larger scale.
Key words: Accountability, Agago District, Decentralization, Decision making,
Participation, Political decentralization, Uganda

Michael Kiwanuka

Democratic Deficits and Public Confidence in Public Institutions in

Uganda: Implications of Accountability on Public Confidence in the
Uganda Local Government Institutions
Michael Kiwanuka
Uganda Management Institute

Abstract
There is a general belief by scholars and practitioners alike that the notable declining
public confidence in public institutions in developing countries like Uganda is a
consequence of democratic deficits in institutional governance. This belief is more so,
because democratic deficits like deficiencies in accountability systems, stifles capacities
of democratic systems to evolve and reform into effective and legitimate agents of
citizens. Accountability is a fundamental virtue of good governance and an important
cornerstone in democratic systems. The paper analyzes the impact of accountability
on public confidence within the context of Ugandas local government Institution. The
analysis of accountability practices and experiences suggests that public confidence in
the institution of local governments in Uganda is on the down ward trend. This is partly
due to the inherent democratic deficits with respect to accountability deficiencies in local
government institutions. The paper concludes that: the widening gap between citizen
preferences and services delivered; the big social service backlogs; the mockery of citizen
participation; and high levels of corruption are already having a big toll on citizens trust
and eroding public confidence in the local government institution. The paper recommends
that developing countries like Uganda should demonstrate commitment to social
accountability by strengthening the citizen voice and support meaningful engagement of
non-state actors alongside formal government systems.
Key words: Democratic deficits, Public confidence, Public Institutions, Uganda Local
Governments, Accountability, Participation

The Ugandan Journal Of Management And Public Policy Studies

Challenges to Policy Implementation in Uganda: Reflections on

Politics and the State
Moses Khisa
Department of Political Science at Northwestern University, Chicago USA

Abstract
Like many African countries, Uganda faces the problem of poor or failed implementation
of state polices and government programmes. There is a big gulf between policymaking
and actual implementation. This article locates the source of the problem in the nature
of Ugandas contemporary politics under the regime of President Yoweri Museveni. The
article argues that at the root of poor policy implementation is the failure to build robust
institutional capacity through a merit-based public system. To understand Ugandas
weak implementation capacity, we need to look at the politics of elite-inclusion and
broad-base that started with the Movement no-party system. By prioritizing the
politics of broad-base, Musevenis regime opened up the Ugandan society to wider
elite political participation and mass representation, and achieved modest progress in
institutionalizing decision/policy-making power. However, simultaneously, the politics
of broad-base also engendered patronage politics and endemic corruption, which
have greatly compromised building the institutional capacity to implement policies and
programs. Since 1986, the idea of broad-base as the founding approach of powersharing became an entrenched strategy of keeping state power even after reverting to
multiparty politics in 2005. The net outcome has been the continuation of deleterious
patronage-politics at odds with the imperatives of a development-oriented state.
Key words: Public Policy, Policy Implementation, the State, Politics of Elite-Inclusion,
Politics of , Institutional Capacity Building, Uganda

The Ugandan Journal Of Management And Public Policy Studies

Determinants of Tax Effort in Developing Countries: Empirical

Evidence from Uganda
Agaba Samuel Bakehena1 and William Kaberuka2
1 Electoral Commission, Kampala, Uganda
2 Makerere Business School

Abstract
Tax effort is the exertion that a country puts into collecting revenue that is necessary
to meets its expenditure demands for sustainable development. One of the reforms that
the World Bank recommends to DCs aimed at augmenting their revenue is a tax reform.
Towards this endeavour, Uganda has carried out a number of tax reforms; but its tax
share to GDP has not only remained low and stagnant at about 12 per cent but has also
not matched her expenditure demands. This has led to high fiscal deficits which have
persisted over the years. This study was carried out using time series data obtained
from the World Banks Development Indicators 2010 CD-RM. A multivariate regression
model was used in the analysis to identify the determinants of tax effort in Uganda.
The findings of the study revealed that lagged tax effort measured by tax-GDP ratio,
share of agriculture to GDP, GDP per capita, openness to trade and external debt stock
significantly affect tax effort. Increase in the other mentioned variables augurs well with
tax effort in Uganda. However, services and manufacturing sectors share to GDP were
found not to significantly affect tax effort. The study recommends that if Uganda is to
improve her tax effort to the levels of other Sub-Saharan African countries, she needs to
invest in areas that would significantly increase GDP per capita. Investment incentives
should be provided to the agricultural sector with the view to commoditizing the sector
and hence bringing it under the tax net. Uganda should also review the policies regarding
the currently offered tax breaks and exemptions with a view to retaining only those that
have a productive effect on the development of manufacturing and service sectors.
Key words: Tax Effort, Sustainable Development, Fiscal Deficit, Tax Reform,
Commoditization, Investment Incentives and Productive Effect

Milly Kwagala

Identifying the Internal Environment Components Critical to

Realizing the Planned Performance of Micro-Finance Institutions in
Uganda
Milly Kwagala
Ndejje University

Abstract
The nature of a firms internal environment is known to be a major determinant of its
performance. It is, however, not always clear which components of this environment are
critical and therefore need more managerial attention if a firm is to realize its planned
performance. Consequently, this article focuses on establishing these components
for micro-finance institutions in Uganda. The article has been compiled from a study
conducted empirically about the massive closure of these institutions which caused
government and client concern, as explained by their management. Concisely, the
findings indicate that the components that critically affect the realization of the planned
performance of a micro-finance institution in Uganda include the ethical orientation
of institutions managers, the nature of the relationship that the managers keep with
their subordinates, and the level of authority given to employees to execute assigned
responsibilities. All these components relate to the quality of the institutions internal
supervision, implying that if the institutions are to realize their performance as planned,
their management has to ensure that their internal supervision is of the best possible
quality.

Key words: Micro-Finance Institution, Internal Environment, Performance, Uganda

Kitunzi Ahmed Mutunzi

The effect of Business Regulatory Standards on Export Trading by

Small Enterprises: A Comparative Analysis of Africa and Uganda
Ahmed Kitunzi Mutunzi
Makerere University

Abstract
This article investigates the relationship between regulatory standards affecting export
trade and the proportion of exporting SMEs with a focus on Africa and especially
Uganda. The study is principally a global comparative analysis of business regulations
and exporting SMEs with a focus on Uganda and the rest of Africa and employs a
triangulation of quantitative research methodologies. The study results reveal that the
number of export documents, time (days) and cost of export trading in Uganda and other
African countries are relatively deterrent to export trading by a substantial fraction
of SMEs. Hence, it is recommendable that Uganda and the rest of Africa implement
persistent, diligent, deliberate, and competitive deregulation of export trading by reducing
the number of export documents, time (days) and cost of exporting so as to enable more
of their SMEs to engage in export trading. Such reforms will lead to sustainable growth
of SMEs and economies.
Key words: Business Regulatory Standards, Small Enterprises and Export Trading

Samson James Opolot

State and Society Relations in Ugandas Politico-economic Transitions:

Structures, Processes and Outcomes of Governance Since 1986
Samson James Opolot
Centre for Basic Research, Kampala and Ibanda University, Uganda

Abstracts
The article discusses the nature and dynamics of structures and processes of state and
society relations in Uganda and the political and economic outcomes in the country.
Empirical data from the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)/Expert Opinion Survey
(EOS) and Focus Group Discussions in Uganda that was compiled in 2011 are among
those analyzed. In addition, literature on these state structures (executive, legislature and
judiciary) and on elections as spaces, processes and institutions for defining, arbitrating
and determining outcomes of structure and processes of governance, with emphases on
the 18 February 2011 and prior to the Presidential and Parliamentary Elections are also
used to triangulate the findings and enrich the discussion. In addition, the results from a
recent study on Uganda @ 50 conducted by the Centre for Basic Research (CBR) are
used to fore ground the opinions of Ugandans on the contemporary social structures
and political trends in the country. The conclusion is that in spite of the considerable
politico-administrative reforms in Uganda especially from 1986 to 2005, there are strong
indications of regressions in the quality of governance since then that warrant concern for
the future democratization in Uganda. Some notable reforms during the pre-2006 period
included significant trends towards decentralization, the return to multiparty political
systems, and the development of a progressive constitution with pronounced frameworks
for pursuing democratic governance through accountable and transparent institutions
of governance. Most of these constitutional provisions are now being reversed. Uganda
today demonstrates the trappings of a post-colonial non-democratic state in which state
structures serve partisan interests. The army takes centre stage in politics and in turn
enables the authoritarian character of the state where elections have become mere
pretences and a mockery of substantive democratization. The independence of the three
arms of the state is simply pretentious and highly circumscribed by the NRM to be used
at will in legitimizing its hold onto power. Unless these trends change, the country could
revert to its tyrannical past.
Key Words: Corruption, State, Society, Political Transitions, Democracy, Elections,
Civil Society, Culture, Power, Paternalism, Economic Commission for
Africa (Eca)/Expert Opinion Survey (Eos), 20111.

The ECA/EOC is conducted to assess governance processes and outcomes in Africa by the United Economic
Commissions for Africa (UNECA) but the most used acronym is ECA. Key aspects of governance analyses
are undertaken by interviewing expert Key Informants hence (EOS) that stands for Expert Opinion Survey.
UNECA contracts Think Tanks to conduct the survey in individual countries and thus Centre for Basic
Research (CBR), Kampala has been privileged to conduct these in the case of Uganda.

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