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UNU-WIDER WP/2012/51 Opposition Politics and Urban Service Delivery in Kampala, Uganda

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WP/051 Opposition Politics and Urban Service Delivery in Kampala, Uganda

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Uganda, like other African countries, has implemented reforms to decentralize political authority to local governments and reintroduce multiparty elections. This combination creates opportunities for national partisan struggles to emerge in local arenas and influence local service delivery. This study explores how partisan politics affects urban service delivery in Uganda through an examination of service provision by Kampala City Council and recent reforms to recentralize control over Kampala. I find that partisan politics undermines service delivery Kampala in several ways, including through financing, tax policy, and even direct interference in the policies and decisions made by the city council.
Publisher:
UNU-WIDER
Series:
WIDER Working Paper
Volume:
2012/51
Title:
WP/051 Opposition Politics and Urban Service Delivery in Kampala, Uganda
Authors:
Gina M. S. Lambright
Publication date:
May 2012
ISBN 13 Web:
978-92-9230-514-7
Copyright holder:
© UNU-WIDER
Copyright year:
2012
Keywords:
decentralization; Africa; service delivery; multiparty elections
JEL:
D72, H70, N47, O18
Sponsor:
This study has been prepared within the UNU-WIDER project on Decentralization and Urban Service Delivery in Africa, which is directed by Danielle Resnick and is a component of the larger UNU-WIDER programme ‘Foreign Aid: Research and Communication (ReCom)’. UNU-WIDER gratefully acknowledges specific programme contributions from the governments of Denmark (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Danida) and Sweden (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency—Sida) for the Research and Communication (ReCom) programme. UNU-WIDER also acknowledges core financial support to UNU-WIDER’s work programme from the governments of Finland (Ministry for Foreign Affairs), the United Kingdom (Department for International Development), and the governments of Denmark and Sweden.
Format:
online
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