Civil Society Organisations’ Roles in the Promotion of Accountability in Service Delivery in Nebbi District.

Abstract

OGAMDHOGWA MOSES (2009-M033-20030) Civil Society Organisations’ Roles in the Promotion of Accountability in Service Delivery in Nebbi District. The study is about Civil Society Organisations‟ (CSOs) work and promotion of accountability in service delivery in Uganda with Nebbi district as a case study. Like all the districts in Uganda today, Nebbi district has adopted innovations that include the use of an Information Management System (IMIS), and an Output-Based Performance Tracking (OPBT) system that have been introduced by the Ministry of Local government (MoLG) to improve on management and performance of local governments. However, with all these innovations, there are still gaps in service delivery manifested by poor accountability. Therefore, with the growth in number of CSOs and their vibrancy as a non-state actor in the district, it was widely believed that they would undertake oversight and monitoring roles since it is one of their roles. However, this has not done much as there are still gaps in services being received by the citizens from local government in the district. As such, this scenario provided the basis of this study. The main objective was to establish CSOs‟ roles in promoting accountability in service delivery in Nebbi district. Specific objectives were to establish the nature of engagement between CSOs and local government on promotion of accountability, examine the effects their engagements on accountability and to explore the challenges that affect CSOs‟ work on accountability. The study was undertaken using a case study research design combining both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The instruments used for data collection included interview guide, focus group discussion, questionnaire and document reviews. The findings show that CSOs‟ engagements have mainly been through meetings and dialogues. But their inadequate capacity has greatly affected their results. This is made worse by lack of effective communication between CSOs, and also between CSOs and local government as well. In conclusion, CSOs‟ roles in promotion of accountability in service delivery has very little to do with one entity of CSO of NGOs type but CBOs and FBOs as well but it is the question of wrong, inappropriate strategies and polices as well. With CSOs distributed throughout the district, the bigger question remains, why can‟t they all act together using their numerical strength to promote accountability? This is a contradiction. And where is the problem rooted. It is about having the right diagnosis for this question to achieve the right results. CSOs should rethink their strategies and how they look at accountability in general while building their capacities. This study, therefore, recommends the need for CSOs in the district to embark on the programme of institutional capacity building so as to effectively engage with local governments at all levels; CSOs and local governments should effectively collaborate to bridge the communication gap and existing laws to clearly provide operational guidelines to allow collaboration. When implemented, it is envisaged that cases where civil society organisations and local government conflict on duplication of activities and lack of transparency will be minimised. Key Words: Civil Society Organisations, Roles, Promotion, Accountability, Service Delivery, Nebbi District.