Multilayered Political Systems and the Politics of Monitoring Local Government Programmes for Engendered Service Delivery: A Case of Apac District in Northern Uganda

Background

Since 1986, Uganda had been under a de facto one party rule known as the movement system. Under the one party system also popularised as ‘Individual Merit’, the central government did not have to seriously worry about the organisation of other contending individuals since party organisation was in abeyance and later restricted to only the capital city Kampala. Thus LGs enjoyed a fair level of autonomy since ‘everyone’ was in the movement system. This was however overturned through a referendum that paved way for a multi-party political dispensation in 2005 (Mugabi, 2004). Consequently, things changed and political parties were freed to actively compete for political power at both national and LG levels.

Whereas the NRM has continued its dominance at the national level, the opposition parties have made inroads in various districts, creating a near rivalry situation. Kampala has been the most obvious scene for this political drama alongside a few districts in the Northern and the West Nile regions of Uganda. The rivalry, characterized by bickering, posturing and populism, between the ruling NRM and the Democratic Party (DP) in Kampala has had adverse effects on the quality of service provision. This same sad story has been glaring in the face of service delivery in other far flung opposition controlled LGs. This offers a classic example of a multilayered political system and its potential baggage despite presence of clear regulatory frameworks. Such power splits and political baggage have a bearing on delivery of social services to citizens (Weber, 2010).