Government

1. Reinventing Government
By
Prof. Waswa Balunywa

2. Paper format
• Causes
• What is government?
• The role of government in the economy
• Management of government affairs
• Challenges of managing government
• Reinventing government
2By Prof. Waswa Balunywa, PhD.

3. Case I: Parliamentary Accounts
Committee
Personal experience
• I am an Accounting Officer
• I studied and I have been a teacher of
accounting
• I appear before parliament periodically
• Attempts to inform the members would result
into more arguments
• Decided to limit knowledge on accounts that I
share with them.
• More knowledge lead to more arguments 3By Prof. Waswa Balunywa, PhD.

4. Case of Parliamentary Accounts
Committee- cont’d
Consequences are that:
• Members of Parliament do not get their right
information
• No proper accountability
• No improvement in management systems
Why is this so?
• Possibly because parliamentarians assume
they know
• They want to be superior
4By Prof. Waswa Balunywa, PhD.

5. Case II: MUBS
Makerere University Business School
• Faculty of Commerce
• 1992-220 students
• 1996-1000 students
• 2001-3000 students
• 2015-17,000 students
5By Prof. Waswa Balunywa, PhD.

6. Case II – Cont’d
How it was done.
• Introduction of strategic thinking
• Training of staff
• Customer orientation
• Cost conscious
6By Prof. Waswa Balunywa, PhD.

7. What is Government?
• The apex institution in society
• An institution with a power to govern
• The state
• The different constituents of a state
• The public sector
• An organ of the state with the power to
govern
7By Prof. Waswa Balunywa, PhD.

8. What is a State?
It consists of the:-
• Executive
• Judiciary and
• Legislature
8By Prof. Waswa Balunywa, PhD.

9. The Executive in Uganda
9By Prof. Waswa Balunywa, PhD.

10. The Legislature in Uganda
10By Prof. Waswa Balunywa, PhD.

11. The Judiciary in Uganda
11By Prof. Waswa Balunywa, PhD.

12. What is a Public Sector?
• Institutions that are owned by the state and
used to govern and or render services to the
public
• Part of an economy owned and or controlled
by government.
– Central government
– Local government
– Public enterprises
12By Prof. Waswa Balunywa, PhD.

13. What is Central Government?
This is a political authority that governs the
entire nation. The word central means these are
others.
13By Prof. Waswa Balunywa, PhD.

14. What is Local Government?
• An administration body for a small city. Above
it is a central government.
14By Prof. Waswa Balunywa, PhD.

15. What is a Public Enterprise
A business organization set up and financed by
government
to provide goods and or services to
the public
15By Prof. Waswa Balunywa, PhD.

16. Uganda Court of Arms
16By Prof. Waswa Balunywa, PhD.

17. Bank of Uganda
17By Prof. Waswa Balunywa, PhD.

18. Uganda Airlines
18By Prof. Waswa Balunywa, PhD.

19. The role Government in the Economy.
Traditional roles
• Police
• Defence
Recent times
• Economic development
• Social justice
19By Prof. Waswa Balunywa, PhD.

20. Police
20By Prof. Waswa Balunywa, PhD.

21. Army
21By Prof. Waswa Balunywa, PhD.

22. Economic Development.
22By Prof. Waswa Balunywa, PhD.

23. Role of Government: Economic
Development
• Planning
– Setting priorities on what to be developed
– National Planning Authority
• Promotion of business
– Export Promotion Board
– Cotton Development Authority
23By Prof. Waswa Balunywa, PhD.

24. Role of Government: Economic
Development- cont’d
• Starting and owning business
– National Water and Sewerage Corporation
– UMEME
• Regulation of business
– Uganda Communications Commission
– Electricity Regulatory Authority
24By Prof. Waswa Balunywa, PhD.

25. Role of Government: Social Justice
• Redistribution of income
Uganda Revenue Authority
The budget
• Enactment and enforcement of laws
– Parliament
– Police
– Court System
25By Prof. Waswa Balunywa, PhD.

26. Role of Government: Social Justice- cont’d
• Social development
– NAADS
– Bona Bagaggawale
• Provision of Public Services
– UNRA
• Education and Health
– Makerere University
– Mulago Hospital
26By Prof. Waswa Balunywa, PhD.

27. Management of Government Affairs
The power to government given the power to
tax.
•Is managed based on tax payers money
•Therefore there is need for;
– Participation
– Transparency
– Accountability
•Management is based on bureaucratic systems.
27By Prof. Waswa Balunywa, PhD.

28. Bureaucracy
• Commonly referred to as red tape
• There are policies that guide thinking and
action
• Ways of doing things that have inbuilt controls
• Written detailed procedures and rules
• Checks and balances in management systems.
28By Prof. Waswa Balunywa, PhD.

29. Challenges of managing government.
• Multiple constituencies
• Fixed budget
• Political systems
• Corruption
• Declining social values
• Declining civil service morale
• Low adoption of ICT
29By Prof. Waswa Balunywa, PhD.

30. Global challenges faced by government.
• Central role of business in society
• Little or less role of government
• Changing technology
• Continuous change
• Ruthless competition
• Letting the best company win
• Let the best government win
Hence the need to reinvent government.
30By Prof. Waswa Balunywa, PhD.

31. Reinventing government.
Learning from the Private Sector
• What is a private sector, individuals doing their
own things.
Guiding principles
• Efficiency
• Profitability
• Effectiveness
• Survival
• Customer Orientation
31By Prof. Waswa Balunywa, PhD.

32. Reinventing government- cont’d
Reducing bureaucracy
• Bureaucracy is good because it ensures
participation, transparency and accountability
• However it is bad because:
– It slows down systems
– Leads to procrastination
– Results into lost opportunities
32By Prof. Waswa Balunywa, PhD.

33. Reinventing government- cont’d
Introducing innovative practices
• Challenging people at work
• Giving people time to think
• Train people
• Enabling people to take more risks
• Challenging people to come up with new ideas
33By Prof. Waswa Balunywa, PhD.

34. Reinventing government- cont’d
Value for money
• The need to be more efficient in operations
• Being commercially oriented
• Being cost conscious
34By Prof. Waswa Balunywa, PhD.

35. Reinventing government- cont’d
Reforming management in government.
• Performance oriented civil service
• Customer driven government
• Introduction of quality and standards
• Improved stakeholder involvement
• Better resource utilization
35By Prof. Waswa Balunywa, PhD.

36. Reinventing government- cont’d
Reforming management in government.
• Improved training
• Decentralization
• Introduction of strategic management
• Accrual accounting
• Cost recovery
36By Prof. Waswa Balunywa, PhD.

37. Reinventing government.
Strengthening management
• Increasing management authority
• Give necessary authority
• Demand more accountability
• Professionalize management
37By Prof. Waswa Balunywa, PhD.

38. Conclusion
• Government can be efficient
• Efficiency leads to better product
• Efficiency improves services
• Efficiency leads to value for money
38By Prof. Waswa Balunywa, PhD.