Title: The Engine of Transformation: Analyzing the Role of Government Service Delivery in Uganda's Economic Development
Authors: Dr. Arinaitwe Julius, Ahumuza Audrey
Volume: 10
Issue: 4
Pages: 222-230
Publication Date: 2026/04/28
Abstract:
This study critically examined the role of government service delivery in driving Uganda's economic development, situating the analysis within Uganda's Vision 2040 and the Third National Development Plan (NDPIII) framework. Anchored in Public Value Theory, New Public Management, and Institutional Economics, the study employed a quantitative cross-sectional survey design administered to a stratified sample of 345 public servants, district officials, civil society representatives, and community members drawn from ten districts across Uganda's four geographic regions. Data were collected using validated structured questionnaires measuring five service delivery dimensions - healthcare delivery, education services, infrastructure provision, public administration efficiency, and agricultural extension - and two outcome constructs: institutional quality and economic development. Analysis proceeded through three stages: univariate descriptive statistics, bivariate Pearson correlation analysis, and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) with bootstrapped mediation testing in AMOS 26.0. Findings revealed that government service delivery was significantly and positively correlated with economic development (r = .561, p < .001), with institutional quality emerging as both the strongest direct predictor of economic development (beta = 0.571, p < .001) and as a full mediator of the service delivery-development relationship (indirect beta = 0.336, 95% BC-CI [0.254, 0.422], p < .001). The SEM model achieved excellent fit (CFI = .961, RMSEA = .046, SRMR = .053). Healthcare delivery demonstrated the largest direct effect on economic development (beta = 0.397), followed by education services (beta = 0.341) and infrastructure provision (beta = 0.318). These results underscore the pivotal but institutionally-conditioned nature of service delivery as an engine of economic transformation in Uganda, with implications for decentralisation policy, public sector reform, and development financing strategies.