Barazas, or public discussion fora, are not meant to witch-hunt leaders but to make them accountable, the second deputy prime minister, Kirunda Kivejinja, has told local leaders in the western district of Bushenyi.
The deputy premier’s advice came on the coat-tails of a grilling baraza session, during which local leaders had a tough time explaining how they spent revenue collected from the district.
Speaking at Ruhumuro sub -county headquarters in Bushenyi district recently, Kivejinja said barazas are meant to make local leaders more accountable to the people they serve.
“Government started implementing a community-based monitoring forum called barazas to enable local community members hold government leaders accountable for the resources spent on public programmes in their areas. I want to tell you leaders that this is not meant to witch-hunt you,” he said, adding:
“Specifically, the purpose of this baraza meeting is to increase transparency in the public sector… to ensure that they are in line with local and national needs, and that they are being implemented as planned and within budget.”
He further said that government wants, through barazas, to engage the beneficiaries or clients of public services in the actual planning and delivery of these services.
This, he said, is based on the principle that people have the right to be involved as citizens.
“Therefore, through your good guidance and positive criticism of duty bearers, we hope to revise our methods of work to improve service delivery and, as government, we don’t expect leaders here to take it personal,” he said.
The baraza initiative was adopted in 2009 to create space for citizens’ participation in the development cycle through effective monitoring of public service providers and demand for public accountability to enhance transparency.
ISSUES RAISED
Some community members complained that Kayanga and Kaasa primary schools in the district were in a state of disrepair without classroom blocks for a huge pupil population.
“The ministry of Education and Sports should take note and make arrangements to assess the conditions of the schools so as to put up an appropriate intervention. This will be done in the coming financial year,” Kivejinja said.
Peter Mugenyi, a resident, said there is poor and inadequate inspection and assessment of schools. He said money given to Universal Primary Education (UPE) schools is not displayed on noticeboards.
“By law, I think we, as parents, should know how much government gives in UPE funds. The challenge is that most head teachers here don’t display that on the noticeboards,” he said.
Kivejinja ordered local government officials to monitor and ensure that funds are well displayed publicly as soon as possible.
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