Title: Statutory board functionality as a determinant of local government service delivery in Uganda
Authors: Dr. Arinaitwe Julius
Asiimwe Isaac Kazaara
Akampurira Sarah
Volume: 10
Issue: 7
Pages: 214-224
Publication Date: 2026/07/28
Abstract:
This study investigated statutory board functionality as a determinant of local government service delivery in Uganda, focusing on five local governments in the Eastern region, namely Mbale, Tororo, Bugiri, Busia, and Kamuli. Statutory boards and commissions, including District Service Commissions, District Land Boards, District Contracts Committees, and Local Government Public Accounts Committees, were established under the Local Governments Act to strengthen oversight, technical guidance, and accountability within Uganda's decentralized governance framework. Despite their establishment, service delivery in many local governments has remained persistently weak, raising questions about whether statutory boards were functioning as intended and whether their functionality translated into measurable improvements in service outcomes. Guided by a cross-sectional survey design and a quantitative approach, the study collected data from 260 respondents comprising district council and board members, technical and administrative staff, and sub-county officials, selected through stratified random sampling. A structured questionnaire captured five dimensions of statutory board functionality, namely oversight, meeting frequency, resource management, stakeholder engagement, and technical capacity, alongside a composite indicator of local government service delivery categorized as poor, fair, or good. Data were analysed using univariate statistics (frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations), bivariate statistics (cross-tabulation, Pearson's chi-square test, and Spearman's rank correlation), and multinomial logistic regression to establish the relative risk of fair or good service delivery relative to poor service delivery, associated with statutory board functionality, while controlling for education, experience, and sex. The results revealed a statistically significant association between statutory board functionality and service delivery (?² = 31.442, df = 4, p < 0.001), and the multinomial logistic regression confirmed that respondents in local governments with highly functional statutory boards had substantially higher relative risk of reporting good rather than poor service delivery (RRR = 28.78, 95% CI: 7.60-109.03, p < 0.001) compared with those in local governments with low board functionality. The study concluded that statutory board functionality was a strong and statistically significant determinant of local government service delivery in Uganda, and recommended deliberate strengthening of board oversight capacity, regularization of statutory board meetings, and enhanced facilitation of board members to translate statutory mandates into tangible service delivery outcomes.