The Impact Of Corruption On Service Delivery In Local Government In Uganda A Case Study Of Makindye Division. Kampala District

AJ3STRACT

The study sought to exam me the impact of corruption on service delivery in local government

in Uganda: a case study of Makinclye Division. Kampala District. The study objectives were~

to identify the causes of corruption within the local government, to establish the possible

measures to overcome corruption within the local government and to i~nd out the effects of

corruption on service delivery in local governments. A cross sectional survey was used in the

course of the study. Both qualitative and quantitative data was gathered in order to establish

the relationship between the independent and dependent variables, so as to examine the

relationship between corruption and service delivery in local government. The study population

involved 58 participants where 14 councilors. I 6 mayors. 15 other local government officials

and the remaining 13 were the local peasants. Purposive sampling was also used to select only

respondents for the researcher to attain the purpose of the study. Data was collected from

primary and secondary sources using questionnaires and interviews. After colk2eting data. the

researcher organized well—answered questionnaire, data was edited and sorted ‘or the next

stage. The data was presented in tabular form, pie charts and bar graphs with frequencies and

percentages. The study found out that socioeconomic characteristics and the size of the

population of people that make up a municipality can be encouraging k~ctors I~r local

government officials to engage in corrupt practices. Patterns of political corruption can be

found in places that have a similar demographic make—up. l)emographic ffictors that have been

known to lead to or increase the likelihood of corruption in a local government system are

religion, race, class, size of the municipality, local economic conditions, education, political

culture, and gender. Some factors are interrelated or can lead to other lactors which may cause

more corruption. The study also c~ncludes that, of particular relevance is the possibility that

corruption might reduce the effectiveness of aid flows through the diversion of funds. Aid.

being fungible, may ultimately help support unproductive and wasteful government

expenditures. Perhaps as a result, many donor countries have focused on issues of good

governance, and in cases where governance is judged to he especially poor. some donors have

scaled back their assistance. Foolproof laws should he made so that there is no room for

discretion for politicians and bureaucrats. The role of the politician should he minimized.

Application of the evolved policies should he left in the hands of independent commission or

authority in each area of public interest. Decision of the commission or authority should be challengeable only in the courts.