PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE:TO IMPROVE SERVICE DELIVERY IN KAMWENGE DISTRICT

When Uganda emerged from its turbulent period of dictatorship and civil war, the country banished its sectarian, centralized governance system of the 1980s and embarked on a decentralized governance approach that allows local communities to manage their own affairs.

Local governments are responsible for providing key public services including health, education, water, and agricultural services. However, many local authorities lack the financial and technical expertise necessary to deliver fundamental social services. Central government allocations to local governments—which represent up to 70% of local government core budget—largely cover staff salaries. Donor contributions are generally earmarked for special purposes, such as malaria prevention programs to compliment available local resources.

 The SDS Programme is supporting  Kamwenge among the 35 districts to address service delivery gaps by developing multiyear District Management Improvement Plans (DMIPs). A DMIP highlights key social sector gaps, interventions, and targets to be achieved by a local government yearly. DMIPs assist local governments to go beyond mere compliance with central government budgetary and planning frameworks by emphasizing outcome-based programmatic planning and innovative approaches to addressing service delivery challenges. They also suggest interventions to address management and leadership-related gaps affecting social services delivery.

Districts drive the DMIP development process. Political leaders and technical staff engage with USAID District-Based Technical Assistance (DBTA) projects and Implementing Partners active in their districts to agree on service delivery priorities and develop strategic interventions for the next three years. They explore funding sources and pool their individual budgets to achieve common goals. SDS will assist districts to implement DMIPs through grants and technical assistance with a focus on nine program areas: coordination, governance and leadership, human resources management, planning and budgeting, financial management, accounting and audit, procurement, performance management, and monitoring and evaluation. The plans will also be supported by resources from other USAID implementing partners, non-USG donors, and the district’s own resources.

 Using this coordinated and collaborative planning approach, districts will develop and implement plans, improve technical skills, enhance coordination, and deliver more quality social services to their communities. Each of the 35 SDS partner districts has developed its own DMIP and uses its interventions to receive management improvement grants.