The government of Uganda is committed to achieving success in its programs and good delivery of services to transform the socio-economic welfare of citizens and flourish the country’s economy.
This commitment is embedded in the national vision 2040 :
“‘ To transform Uganda from a peasant to a
modern and prosperous country.”
Resultantly the government has embarked on a number of programs be they- socio-economic and political to secure this sacred goal. Particular mention can be said of economic empowerment programs in light of the undeniable fact that poverty is the bitterest enemy of many: YLP for youths, UWEP for women, Special grant for persons with disabilities, EMYOGA, PDM among others.
Citizens participation in monitoring of these and other socio-public like programs is prerequisite for their success and sustainability. This empowerment is anchored in the 1995 Constitution in
chapter 1:1 stating that:
” All power belongs to the people who shall exercise their sovereignty according to this constitution.”
Additionally in chapter 1:2
” All authority in the state enamates from the
people of Uganda and the people shall be
governed through their will and consent”
However, by both shock and surprise many Ugandans have abdicated participation in monitoring of government programs. Some have gone an extra mile to relegate this responsibility to leaders and administrators despite the constitution blatantly stating that:
” All those who hold public offices do so on the trust of the people and they shall be answerable and accountable to people.”
As a matter of fact citizens have to vigilantly and vehemently participate in monitoring and reporting of government programs. This enhances the basis for decision makers like leaders and administrators to make evidence based public policies and programmatic decisions that strengthens accountability in terms of audits and value for money leading to success and sustainability of those programs. With a lukewarm participation of citizens in monitoring, corruption surpasses accountability and transparency thus endangering service delivery. It suffices to say that citizens participation in bringing perpetrators of poor service delivery and failure of programs to justice by either testifying against them in courts of law or pinning them for shadow work is a great intervention. In the case of the aforementioned economic empowerment programs, the administrators, leaders and general public usually opt to look on as beneficiaries of the program misuse them then turn around to bash government, forgetting that the realest problem here are the misusers of the program [the beneficiaries] the leaders, administrators and on lookers alike. who are neither forgivable nor forgettable.
Taking instance of a borehole Worthy 30 millions drilled in a village but it can’t pump 50 litres of water in a day and citizens including the chairperson of LC1 keeps quiet amounting to betrayal. Here citizens participation in monitoring and reporting ought to be loudest because it’s an essential building block that makes a functional monitoring system. It’s crystal clear that even if the government improves issues that require intervention in programs and services delivery with outstanding gaps in citizens participation in monitoring, the quality of services delivered won’t improve.
It’s however understandable that Sensitization of citizens to monitor and report about government programs is much needed for success of those programs and effective delivery of services. This should be collective responsibility for key players like leaders, administrators civil society organizations, community based organizations and all concerned citizens. Empowerment is there and the government has put in place institutions and agencies for this, but nevertheless these efforts of government need to be supplemented by citizens’ participation. The legal framework is equally well laid awaiting intervention from patriotic citizens to do the needful and guarantee success of the programs and good service delivery. It’s convincing to note that a sensitized community is vigilant to implement their roles in monitoring of government programs and delivery of services. Therefore stakeholders have to step up Sensitization of the general public about their roles in monitoring as this will be a big step taken to improve service delivery and success of the programs for good of the public.
By and large, citizens participation in monitoring of government programs is a master key to unlock impediments to success of government programs
and a prerequisite for good service delivery.
The writer is a deputy R.C.C of Bardege-layibi division in Gulu city.
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