Effects of the Coordination and Harmony of Political and Civil Leaders on Service Delivery: A Case Study of Political and Civil Leaders in Mbarara District

Abstract

KANDOLE CLEMENT (2007-MO83-10004) Effects of the Coordination and Harmony of Political and Civil Leaders on Service Delivery: A Case Study of Political and Civil Leaders in Mbarara District Uganda has been implementing a decentralisation system of governance using a dual power system in which political and civil leaders are involved in local governance. This study was carried out to assess the coordination and harmony between the two in the dual power decentralisation system. The objectives of the study were to identify the level of awareness of the political and civil leaders of their roles in service delivery, to assess the harmony and coordination that exists between the political and civil leaders, to ascertain the effect of disharmony on service delivery and to suggest possible ways of increasing harmony and coordination in the dual power system of decentralizstion. The study was carried out in Mbarara district. Three sub-counties of Kakiika, Rubaya and Kakoba were randomly selected for the study. Respondents included political leaders and civil servants both at the district and sub-county and members of the general public. Focus group discussions were used to collect data from community members while semi-structured questionnaires were used to collect data from political and civil leaders. The study found out low levels of awareness of their roles among political leaders. Harmony and coordination between political and civil leaders, which are critical to effective service delivery in Uganda under a dual power governance system, is also lacking. Such lack of harmony and coordination has serious implications on accountability. As a result, conflict between civil servants and political leaders was a common occurrence which greatly affects service delivery. The study concludes that a dual power governance system remains a challenge in regard to coordination and harmony of political and civil leaders leading to ineffective service delivery. Educational requirements of political leaders need to be increased. There is also need to redesign roles to address the overlaps in responsibilities. Key Words: Coordination, Harmony, Political, civil Leaders, Service Delivery, Mbarara District.