By KT Reporter
Ugandans are calling on the government to establish a tracker to monitor the implementation of Baraza resolutions.
They argue that without a sustained follow-up mechanism, the accountability forums cannot meaningfully confront Uganda’s worsening service delivery gaps.
The call follows recent Baraza debates convened by the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) in partnership with Twaweza Uganda and civil society organisations.
For over a decade, Barazas, public dialogue platforms rooted in East Africa’s tradition of open assembly, have been promoted as frontline tools for amplifying citizen voices on health, education, roads, agriculture, and local governance.
Citizens now want the government to go further to protect Baraza participants, integrate resolutions into district development plans.
They suggest that the Ministers should be compelled to formally respond to issues raised and guarantee predictable funding to local governments.
Without such reforms, experts warn, barazas will continue to expose Uganda’s service-delivery cracks but struggle to seal them.
During the Barazas held last week in Kamuli and Kyenjojo districts, residents delivered blunt assessments of crumbling public services, citing chronic underfunding, weak follow-up, political interference, and centralised control.
In Kamuli, residents described a health system in freefall. Kenneth Waiswa of Ngabirano Village said the area’s only Health Centre II recently closed, forcing pregnant women to walk long distances to Bugulumbya Health Centre III.
“We have raised this matter severally times. Nothing has been done,” he told Resident District Commissioner Rose Birungi.
Emergency care was a recurring concern. Ronald Kayanja Mukembo from Namasagali Town Council said residents now rely on tri-wheel motorcycles to transport patients because ambulances are either unavailable or too costly. “I was once asked for six hundred thousand shillings for an ambulance even after the patient had died,” he said.
Kamuli District Health Officer, Dr. Moses Lyagoba, acknowledged the crisis.
The district budgeted for Shs17 billion this financial year but received only Shs15 billion, and out of 1,550 approved staff positions, only 606 are filled.
“Lack of staff housing contributes to absenteeism. Others simply have poor attitudes, which we are addressing,” he said.
Kamuli District Internal Security Officer James Kaahwa delivered a sharp reprimand.
“The money keeps coming year after year, but are we delivering? Do not defend officials who have embezzled public funds,” he warned. Kaahwa accused some OPM and IGG officers of conducting unreported supervisory trips that enable corruption and called for forensic-style audits after Barazas.
Juliet Natuhwera from Mabira Town Council in Kyenjojo added that mothers referred to the Kyenjojo Hospital often find no staff on duty. “Some women are told to go to private facilities if they have money. Those who cannot afford are left suffering,” she said.
Roads remain among the most explosive issues raised at Barazas nationwide. In Kyenjojo, District Engineer Stephen Kusemererwa said Uganda Road Fund allocations had dropped from UGX 556 million to UGX 167 million, leaving some subcounties with barely UGX 2.7 million for annual maintenance. “Initially, 15 percent of the road grant was earmarked for equipment maintenance. It has been reduced to 7 percent, which is insufficient,” he said.
Chief Administrative Officer, Asuman Masereka said new town councils and subcounties were created without staff, offices, or road funds.
“It becomes difficult to tell residents they have no budget for roads,” he said. Agricultural extension services were equally strained despite the district’s reliance on tea, coffee, cocoa, and dairy.
Kyenjojo LC5 Chairperson Gilbert Rubaihayo criticised “hybrid projects” where ministries procure contractors while districts supervise from afar. Citing the stalled Paro Seed School, he said: “Almost 30 percent of the money was swindled. Holding the contractor accountable has been extremely difficult.”
Introduced in 2009, Barazas are backed by Article 38 of the Constitution, which guarantees citizen participation, and Article 41, which guarantees access to information. Th
The Local Government Act reinforces participatory planning. In theory, Barazas operationalise these rights by allowing communities to directly interrogate service providers.
In parts of West Nile and eastern Uganda, Barazas helped accelerate stalled health centre construction, prompted repairs to broken water systems, and exposed ghost projects. When local officials know they will face public scrutiny, especially with civil society documentation, service delivery tends to improve.
But the weaknesses are equally stark. Many communities return year after year to the same issues: drug stock-outs, absentee staff, impassable roads, unfinished classrooms, without meaningful progress. In some cases, those who speak boldly have faced intimidation or arrest, undermining the spirit of participatory governance.
“Barazas often echo patterns long documented by the Auditor-General and Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee. Their impact, however, depends heavily on local governments’ capacity to act, sustained civil society pressure, and clear tracking of recommendations. Without this, OPM’s own evaluations admit that Baraza resolutions “collect dust.”
Twaweza Uganda continues to play a critical role through public opinion research such as Sauti za Wananchi, which tracks national attitudes on public services.
“In Kamuli, we heard many stories of people paying for services because of a lack of information,” said Twaweza Country Lead Violet Alinda. “When you dig deeper, the root cause is a lack of information, which fuels corruption.”
“Monitoring and evaluation is the eye and bloodstream of every organisation,” said Nathan Otutu, National Coordinator of Barazas, and Assistant Commissioner for Monitoring and Evaluation.
“Barazas give citizens a direct platform to assess government interventions. This is the most reliable way for the government to hear from ordinary people.”
Uganda’s Baraza system draws inspiration from Kenya’s Public Barazas and shares features with participatory forums in Tanzania, Ghana, India’s Gram Sabhas, Brazil’s participatory budgeting, and South Africa’s imbizos. The most successful models have one common ingredient: enforceable follow-up with consequences for leaders who ignore citizen demands.
As public trust declines and service delivery gaps widen, Barazas remain one of the few state-recognised spaces where ordinary citizens can directly question those in power. But without institutionalised follow-up, legal consequences for unfulfilled commitments and protection for outspoken participants, the forums risk becoming symbolic rather than transformative.
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