| dc.description.abstract | BALABA DANIEL (2008-M092-20051)
The Role of Privatisation of State Enterprises in the Socio-economic Development of Urban
Centres: A Case Study of Kira Town Council, Wakiso District
This study was about the role of privatisation of state enterprises in the socio-economic
development of urban centres. Specifically, the study focused on the role of privatisation in the
development of education, health and security services in Kira Town Council. The research design
that was adopted in this study was a case study research design. Case studies emphasise detailed
contextual analysis of a limited number of events or conditions and their relationships. The
researcher employed both quantitative and qualitative research approaches. The study was
conducted in Kira Town Council in Wakiso district because of the high level of privatisation of
facilities in the town. The study revealed that due to privatisation, the number of private schools
were said to be more than government aided schools. The secondary section was entirely privately
managed and the government involvement was only in provision of Universal Secondary
Education. There was also competition among schools that led to improvement in performance.
However, as pointed out by the Local Council III secretary for education, the competition among
private schools partly contributed to examination malpractices in order to be able to attract many
students. This, therefore, implies that while privatisation had led to increase in the number of
schools, it compromised the quality of education. The lack of adequate teaching materials in
government aided schools was attributed to limited budget allocations to the education sector. For
example, the Universal Primary Education funds were so inadequate and irregular to enable head
teachers to procure the necessary scholastic materials. With the exception of schools like Uganda
Martyrs Secondary School Namugongo and Nalya secondary school, the secretary for education
indicated the general situation was unsatisfactory. Regarding health, privatisation of health
services is promoted because of the perceived weaknesses of public ownership and a poor track
record when it comes to enterprise reform. The results indicated that many private clinics were
being operated by people who were not qualified medical personnel and provided health services
without adequate knowledge of health care. In addition, there was lack of hospital facilities such
as beds, drugs and laboratory equipment which is a sign of low quality services both in private and
public health centres. Looking at the development of security firms, some of the private firms in
Kira Town Council were Askar security services, Securicor Alert guards and Saracen guards. The
results showed that due to the emergency of security firms in Kira Town Council, people are sure
of the safety of their businesses and their lives. Nevertheless, the security firms were committed
despite a few cases of robbery and theft. Basing on the results of the study, the researcher
recommended that: There is need for continuous support of private services providers due to the
fact that private organisations are development partners. This can be done through subsidisation
of private enterprises by the government and donor agencies. The activities of private firms should
be monitored by government to ensure that the public is not exploited. This can be done with the
help of organisations like the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, National Drug Authority, etc.
Keywords: Socio-economic Development, Privatisation of State Enterprises, Wakiso district | en_US |
