Concept Note on a Survey for Staffing Levels in Government Institutions and

Institutional Capacity Assessment of the Centers of Excellence in Uganda

Introduction

The desired levels of public services delivery purposed on enabling implementation of national
development plans for improved human development in Uganda remain elusive. The public sector is still
faced with many challenges of varying facets. Though several institutions and their relevant legal
framework have been put in place over the years, there are still missing gaps in obtaining the needed
capacities to ensure efficient and effective service delivery in the country. Building a better public service
delivery system in Uganda requires sustained motivation of staff, adequate administrative mechanism,
transformation of the public service work culture and attitude.

The competences and commitment of various public institutions that are expected to serve as vanguards
of public sector service delivery have been repeatedly questioned, amid continued reports of
mismanagement and poor services. While the reports continue to highlight, among others, weaknesses in
internal controls, the public institutions are, in principle, expected progressively to strengthen the internal
capacity mechanisms. In the wake of continued blame on the institutional capacities, it becomes
necessary to “audit the auditors” by undertaking institutional analysis of the institutions’ capacity to
execute their mandates. The performance of any organization or agency largely depends on the magnitude
of its staffing levels, the ability to execute the responsibility/tasks before it and the strength of its
institutional mechanism, and sustained motivation.

The institutional capacity elements include organizational structural arrangements, human and financial
resources, planning capabilities, and the support from the institution’s environment through its different
stakeholders. Regarding the public institutional capabilities to deliver services, there is a need for any
mandated institution to attain adequate numbers of qualified, motivated and facilitated human resources,
and an enabling policy environment.

Developments in democratic governance in Africa in recent years and increased attention to the quality of
public service delivery have facilitated the process of deepening decentralization of service delivery.
Uganda embraced the decentralization process in 1992 following the success of the National Resistance
Councils (NRC) between 1986 and 1990. The legal frameworks for the decentralized system of
governance in Uganda are contained in the Constitution of Uganda 1995, Articles 176 - 207 and the Local
Government Act, 1997. These laws created decentralized administrative units referred to as DLG, county,
sub county, parish and village local councils. At the inception of the process in 1997, there were a total of
39 DLGs; this was expanded to 56 DLGs by the year 2000, 87 DLGs by 2008, 112 by 2014 and 136 plus
one capital city by July 2015. One of the main arguments for disaggregation of DLGs has been the desire
to take services nearer to the communities to improve planning, access and accountability.

In principle, devolution and delegation of power to lower local governments was expected to encourage
more community participation in decision making and to hold policy makers accountable for the quality
of service provided. This involved delegation of authorities to: improve access to public services; increase
participation in decision-making; develop local capacity and enhance transparency and accountability
(Mugabi, 2004). Decentralization was therefore envisaged to contribute to poverty reduction and
development through the bottom-up approach to planning and monitoring service delivery. In the
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literature world over, Uganda is considered as one of the success stories in the implementation of a
decentralized system of public service delivery. Uganda government devolved all the responsibilities of
public service provision under, agriculture, health and education to lower level local governments. An
essential aspect of improving public service delivery is the capacity of the DLGs to manage the process.
Yet, DLGs’ capacity has remained low. Expenditure is not always commensurate with the results of any
implemented projects. This explains the weak relationship between expenditure and the outcomes of
service delivery in many developing countries, Uganda inclusive.

Thus, public service delivery in Uganda is often marred by cases in which expenditure does not reflect the
quality and outcomes of the services delivered. This has in part been attributed to weak institutional
processes and staffing gaps among some DLGs. Poor delivery of services implies that most of the
intended beneficiaries do not have access to the service or if they do the quality is not commensurate to
the resources invested. It is not uncommon to visit a health facility with no doctor at the duty station to
serve clients or the personnel are available, there are no drugs, equipment or even electricity. This
suggests that there could be weakness in the institutional design and framework for some sectors such as
education and health service.

Hence, both Central and Local Governments remain constrained by the phenomenon of low staffing and
poor institutional capacities for service delivery. Many central government institutions and LGs have
failed to attract qualified and competent personnel. Staffing levels for strategic positions for districts and
municipalities currently stand at less than 56% of the required staff. In 2013, 30% of District Water
Officers also doubled as the District Engineers with excessive workload that affected effectiveness of the
two offices.

Whereas policy has given the Central government institutions, district local governments(DLGs) and
lower level local governments a central role in the management of public service delivery, the
performance of the needed services falls short of expectations, which has worsened access to quality
services. According to the Mid-Term Review of the National Development Plan 2013, the poor
performance is largely attributed to staffing and capacity constraints. This has led to instances where the
intended beneficiaries do access the services or if they do, they will be insufficient and of low quality.
The central government’s capacity to monitor such services is often undermined by human resource and
financial constraints.

Despite these challenges to decentralized service delivery, there has been no rigorous empirical analysis
and documentation of the relationship between institutional staffing, capacity and efficiency of public
service delivery in Uganda. This study aims to fill this gap in the literature by empirically analyzing the
impact of institutional staffing and capacity on efficiency in public service delivery.

Purpose

National Planning Authority intends to establish whether public institutions are prepared to implement
National Development Plan (NDP II) through its mandate to strengthen its implementation by
undertaking a comprehensive study into staffing levels, institutional capacity and mechanism.

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Specific Objectives

The specific objectives of the survey are:

i) To evaluate the staffing levels of various public institutions;

ii) To examine the manner in which services are delivered with such numbers;

iii) To investigate and document other institutional capacities for public services delivery;

iv) To identify factors that determine the quality of staffing levels, management and institutional
capacities;

v) To quantify the relationship between staffing levels, management, institutional capacities and
public service delivery.

vi) To provide workable policy options to address the issue.

Survey Activities
The survey team will be tasked to do a critical analysis that will:
 Study the staffing levels in a number of public institutions that include central government bodies
and DLGs and how they affect service delivery in the public institutions;
 identify the factors that lead to persistent staffing levels and give recommendations on how to
address it;
 Analyze the policy, legal, and institutional frameworks that govern recruitment, remuneration,
and retention to identify gaps, loopholes, and opportunities for making the frameworks work
better;
 Examine the institutional capacities other than staffing levels such financial resources, sector
dynamics that affect service delivery in the public institutions;

Methodology:
The survey team will use a combination of methodologies including the following;
 A questionnaire will be designed and posted to all districts in Uganda. Each district will fill one
questionnaire. 30% of the districts will be directly sampled where interview guide will used to
collects relevant data. The same arrangement will be applied to government ministries,
departments and agencies (MDAs) and centers of excellence.
 Review of existing documentation on staffing levels and institutional capacities in MDAs and
districts in Uganda;
 The team will also hold stakeholder consultations for input and to get a buy-in for the final
product.
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Modalities

Team
The assignment will be undertaken by a selected survey team composed of members of different
departments in National Planning Authority. The study team will liaise with Ministry of Local
Government, Ministry of Public Service and District Planners. The survey team will be led by a Team
Leader who will provide leadership.

Duration
The assignment will take up to 18 working days. Extension will be granted on a need-to-basis.

Products
The team is expected to produce a Survey Report that identifies the analytical status, workable strategies
direction and policy options to address staffing levels and institutional capacities in Uganda.

Working relations
The team will work closely with the different departments in NPA and other stakeholders and technical
input. The NPA technical team will provide overall guidance and supervision.

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 Budget for Conducting a Study on Staffing Levels in Government Institutions and Institutional
Capacity Assessment of the Centers of Excellence
Unit Cost Amount
Activity Qty (UGX) (UGX)

     
a.  Printing questionnaires ; buy 4 cartoons of papers and 2
toners      

-Four Cartoons of papers 20 20,000 400,000

-Two Toners 2 600,000 1,200,000

b.   Research Assistant for 18 days 18 250,000 4,500,000

c.   Postage costs for distributing Questionnaires     200,000

d.    Per diems for Visits in the four selected regions      

-4 officers for 9 days in 4 regions 4 150,000 5,400,000

-4 Drivers for 9 days in 4 regions 4 90,000 3,240,000

e.    Fuel and car servicing      

-Fuel for 100km for 4 vehicles every day for 9 days 400 3,500 12,600,000

-Servicing 4 Cars for the 4 routes. 4 200,000 800,000

f. Data Analysis 12 240,000 2,880,000

Sub Total     31,220,000

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References

Mugabi, J. and Njiru, C. (2006), “Managing Water Services in Small Towns: Challenges and Reform
Issues for Low-Income Countries”, J. Urban Plann. Dev., 132(4), 187-192.

Obwona M, Steffensen J, Trollegaad S, Mwanga Y, Luwangwa F, Twodo B, Ojoo A and Seguya F

(2000), “Fiscal Decentralization and Sub-National Government Finance in Relation to Infrastructure and
Service Provision in Uganda”, Economic Research Policy Centre (EPRC), Uganda, March 2000.