Abstract
Government of Uganda implemented the Local Government Development Program (LGDP) between 2000 and 2009 with support from multi-lateral and bi-lateral agencies. Unlike previous policies such as Structural Adjustment Programs (SAP’s) and Liberalization Policies, LGDP was designed to address poverty following a participatory approach. The participatory approach involved improvement of service delivery where local communities identified, prioritized and implemented development projects. This approach ensured demand-driven service delivery with a performance assessment strategy through multi-level budget framework meetings organized to prioritize and evaluate the project outcomes. LGDP aligned with the overarching Poverty Eradication Action Plan policy by improving services delivery within the mandate of Local Governments. The services included health, education, street lighting, water supply, drainage, waste collection among others as provided for by the Local Governments Act. Funding was provided as Conditional and non-conditional grants released in each financial year for two grouped items of Local Development Grants (LDG) and Capacity Building Grants (CBG). This paper examines the fundamentals of participatory local development planning conceived as a people-centered approach in decision-making and how it contributed to development in Uganda. The paper also critiques the implications of LGDP upon aid withdrawal and its implications on locally generated mobilization of resources for sustainability.
Highlights
Poverty eradication has been and is still leading on the agenda for development in many developing countries (UN-Habitat, 2005; UN-Habitat, 2008)
Local Government Development Program (LGDP) was implemented between 2000 and 2009 to contribute towards transformation of decision making from a top-down to bottom up approach that enables communities to participate in identification, prioritization and implementation of development projects
This section of the paper examines the assessment of LGDP regime in addressing urban poverty from the community perspective
Summary
Poverty eradication has been and is still leading on the agenda for development in many developing countries (UN-Habitat, 2005; UN-Habitat, 2008). The actors include local governments, communities, NGO’s and the private sector Policies such as the Structural Adjustment Programs, Liberalization Policies, and Privatization policy have been implemented in the last three decades with the aim to transform Ugandan society out of poverty. Decentralization and improved local governance has been advanced as an alternative approach to addressing poverty This approach has been widely implemented through Local Government Development Program (LGDP) in Uganda. LGDP was implemented between 2000 and 2009 to contribute towards transformation of decision making from a top-down to bottom up approach that enables communities to participate in identification, prioritization and implementation of development projects This strategy has the basic ingredients of a people-centered approach in the revitalization of service delivery and driving of development in the country and city in particular (Lwasa & Kadilo, 2010). The paper examines how LGDP and the development planning process addressed the needs and priorities of urban communities
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