Social accountability towards good governance and service delivery

PRIFODE in partnership with ToroDev organized an accountability meeting on 22^nd September 2017 at Mugusu Sub County, Kabarole district.

The accountability meeting aimed at giving a room to duty bearers at all levels from Kabarole District to come and give people accountability and also allow local citizens to have an engagement with their leaders and ask for accountability, and demand for better services. Over 100 local citizens and political leaders attended the meeting.  

The Leaders who attended included the Mugusu District councilor, the town clerk Mugusu town council, the LC III Chairperson, LC II, LC I Mugusu Sub County, youth leaders, Sub county and town council technical teams, OC station Mugusu police post, religious leaders, opinion leaders, etc

 “As PRIFODE forum we have been partnering with ToroDev for more than six years, we have been trained on issues of advocacy, using ICTs and how to hold leaders accountable. The main objectives of the forum is holding political and local leaders accountable,  we demand for accountability for improved service delivery , we protect and defend the rights  of the people and  advocate for the voiceless especially women and youth.” Said Mukwano Senyonjo the Leader of   PRIFODE Forum.

 “We organize such meetings with an aim of providing a platform for the local leaders and political leaders to give accountability to the local citizens and it’s the only traditional platform the local citizens can demand for accountability from their leaders. Accountability meetings help us to engage leaders in a face to face discussion to see that there is improved service delivery. We appreciate ToroDev for the support towards organizing such meetings as they have given us the freedom of speech and association with the hard to reach leaders”. Said  Tibenda Stephen   secretary of PRIFODE

The coordinator PRIFODE Taddeo Mukwano Ssenyonjo sharing with participants during the meeting

 While sharing with participants during the meeting, David Kugonza ToroDev’s Communications officer said the meeting aimed at comparing notice from the previous regime and the 1 year of the current regime such that as a team we identify the gaps in order to build a team that can advocate for improved service delivery in communities. He further said that people lack information and that is why sometimes some duty bearers mighty be accused of some issues which they are not part of but when such meetings are organized citizens tend to get first hand information which keep them updated especially on issues of service delivery.

The area district councilor Hon. Kisembo appreciated PRIFODE and ToroDev for availing leaders such platforms where they account to their electorates and also plan to solve prevailing challenges as a team. ‘’ Am really grateful for this opportunity because personally I find it very costly to organize such gatherings but when there is someone to give us such opportunities we come and account to our people and also update them of the plans we have in terms of service delivery in communities, I thank the organizers and request that you extend such meetings to parishes in order to reach all our citizens’’, said Hon Kisembo while sharing with participants at Mugusu town council hall.

 

Ms Karungi Lillian a resident of Mperre village in Mugusu s/county engaging leaders during the meeting

A number of issues were raised by citizens to the attention of leaders and they included; lack of information access especially from town council & sub county offices, payment of money to access police bond, sorry state of roads in the sub county & town council, lack of enough safe & clean water sources in many communities, lack of drugs in  the health centers, etc

In their responses to the issues raised by the citizens, the sub county chairperson and the town clerk promised to take into consideration the issues raised and put it to the attention of participants that the town council engineer who was misappropriating government funds was terminated and also promised to work on Kahungera-Kyogya road, improve murraming on Mugusu-Kiboha road, lobbying for increased share of drugs from district & central government, improve on information sharing & dissemination by making use of public notice boards, etc

We thank SIDA , NED, SPIDER, ICT4DEM, CIPESA, PRIFODE, & all our development partners for the support. 

.