Stakeholder participation and service delivery in municipalities in Uganda: a case of Ntungamo municipality

Abstract

This study sought to establish influence of stakeholder participation in services delivery of Ntungamo municipality. specifically. the study examined whether stakeholder participation in services delivery planning. budgeting and monitoring significantly influence services delivery:. The study adopted a case study design and it employed quantitative and qualitative paradigms. Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics. simple linear and multiple regression analyses. while qualitative data was analysed using content analysis. Data \\as collected using a structured questionnaire and key-informants interview guide from random sample of 320 municipality residents and 13 key informants. It was found out stakeholder participation in the planing. budgeting for and monitoring of services deliver can significantly increase the quality of services offered by municipalities. Stakeholder participation enables better identification of stakeholder needs. appropriate budgetary allocations and monitoring of effective resources utilization. This increases the provision of core services such a Garbage collection. environment management. sanitation. health and education. It was further found that service delivery results will depend on the way municipal governing agencies promote collaborative and collective decision-making with stakeholders regarding the provision of services and allocation of resources. Partisan politics. unnecessary central government interference and lack of an administration culture that supports stakeholder participation can lower the performance of municipal governments and subsequently service de livery. Thus. it was recommended that municipalities should promote political and administrative cultures that favour valuable citizens· empowerment. Strategies to maintain meaningful stakeholder participation should be enhanced by municipality leader h1ps. A model of stakeholder participation in sen ices delivery by the municipality is suggested.