Involvement of political decision makers : The Ugandan experience
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Transcript of Involvement of political decision makers : The Ugandan experience
Involvement of political decision makers:The Ugandan experience
By
Margaret KakandeMinistry of Finance- Uganda.
Introduction
Political decision makers are at the apex of government operations at all levels
Policy making processes, and budgeting are all political processes
Political decision makers have constituencies- and thus the clientilistic tendencies
Political decision makers usually operate within “ short-term” horizons
MfDR Concepts dependent on political decision makersCountry ownership for control and
sustainabilityCountry priorities
Key questions?How do we define country ownership?Who determines the country
priorities?
Uganda’s Political structure
The PresidencyThe ParliamentThe Prime Minister’s officeSectoral ministriesLCV- DistrictLCIV- MunicipalityLCIII- Sub countyLCII – ParishLCI -Village
Political involvement into policy formulationFormulation of PEAP/PRSP was very
participatory for technical staffSome district political leaders were
consulted National political leaders were
consulted after draftingThe president signed the Foreword of
the PEAP document
Challenges and Lessons learnt
Late involvement of political leaders can be disadvantageous
Difficult to consult political decision makers at all levels
Need for effective communication about policy choices and strategies for addressing issues that are nor prioritized nationally
Political involvement in M&E
Most national political decision makers were not directly involved in M&E
The parliament has initiated a community assessment mechanism for feedback about results
At district level, the Resident District Commissioners are mandated to monitor government programmes
Institutional mandates
Reconciling mandates with roles and responsibilities under MfDR
Feasibility of using results for learning and decision making- issues of Clout
Key concerns
-where are the carrots?
-whose has the sticks?
Implications for MfDR
The political setting has to be receptive to the notion of MfDR and therefore its concepts and principles
-Defining clear results provides better targets for change
Effective integration of the short-term concerns of political decision makers will make MfDR feasible
-Using the results chain to depict cause and effect relationships
Implications for MfDR cont.
The institutional arrangements should allow for effective communication
-Keeping measurement and reporting simple
Using results for learning and decision making
-Using results for accountability with levels of accountability for the actors
Implications for MfDR.Establishment of incentives to
generate and use information generated
The need to have good indicators along the results chain to convince those interested mainly in the short-term results
Implications for MfDR cont
The institutional arrangements should be harmonized to avoid duplication (Example of M&E in local governments in Uganda)
Capacity building efforts must target both technical and political decision makers- to have a “common language” so that the answer to “ why are we doing this? Is similar for all
Distinguished participants
Like farming with a rudimentary hoe,-----MfDR without the political leaders will be an uphill task .
I thank you for the attention.