MAKARERE: A new doctoral study at Makerere University in Uganda, has opened the lid on why the government’s post- conflict recovery programme in the northern region has mixed results.
In 2007, following the end of the devastating Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebellion in the north, the Government of Uganda launched a recovery plan known as the Peace, Recovery and Development Plan (PRDP) to consolidation of state authority; rebuild and empower communities; revitalize the northern economy; and build peace and reconciliation. It was envisaged that the plan would have the potential to significantly shape the recovery and development of northern Uganda, and address the priorities identified by the people.
A new doctoral study by Mr. Tom Ogwang titled: “Development Interventions and Post-Conflict Reconstruction in Northern Uganda: A Case Study of PRDP,” has discovered that while there has been significant contribution in infrastructure (what it he calls the ‘hardware’) a lot is missing in real benefits to the people (the ‘software’).
“While the PRDP intervention had made contributions to the development of ‘hardware’, minimal attention had been paid to the ‘software’. It explains why the PRDP did not yield the expected results vis-à-vis the value for money in Northern Uganda,” he writes in an abstract in preparation for his public defence next week, September 5, 2022.
Starting at 9:00 am at the School of Social Sciences Upper Lecture Theater, the public defence has been announced by the dean of the School of Social Sciences.
His study was co-supervised by renowned Professors Murindwa Rutanga of the National Defence College – Uganda and Elijah D. Mushemeza of the Department of Political Science and Public Administration, Makerere University.
A PhD Public Defence is often viewed solely as an academic event marking and evaluating the end of a research project, leading to recommendation for the award of a Doctor of Philosophy. Typically, discussions on the doctoral defence center on the scholarly dimension. The defence is often viewed solely as an academic event marking and evaluating the end of a research project.
Mr. Ogwang’s study, which focused on the northern region of the country, examined the effects of development interventions by PRDP in Northern Uganda after the two-decade old armed conflict.
“Its focus was on peace building and reconciliation, on rebuilding and empowering the war-affected communities, on revitalizing the economy and the challenges which were encountered,” he writes.
He adds that his study adopted a case study design, employing both qualitative and quantitative approaches to gather the data.
Findings:
The study’s research findings which will interest public policy makers in government, civil society and academia following a successful public defence next week, included substandard infrastructure, lack of qualified staff in government institutions and drugs in government medical facilities.
“The implementation of the PRDP was handicapped by delays, budget cuts, late releases of funds, rigidity of the guidelines, and absence of monitoring, corruption and evaluation and incapacity of contractors to complete the projects in time,” he reveals.
He adds that some people perceived PRDP as a political favor from the government, others as a trick by the government to solicit external funds for embezzling. They accused the government of paying little attention to peace building and reconciliation and they blamed it for creating land conflicts. He reveals that his findings further show that beneficiaries blamed the government for delivering meagre resources for compensation and also for not giving the adequate knowledge about the PRDP and the other government programs.
“All these had ended up alienating the local people from the PRDP and implementation of the two phases of PRDP within six years was found to have been too short to effect a recovery program in such a war-ravaged society for,” he concludes.
Who is Tom Ogwang?
Mr. Ogwang is a University Lecturer in the Department of Planning and Governance, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Uganda. He has also taught at the Institute of Ethics and Development Studies, Uganda Martyrs University, Nkozi. He holds a Masters in International Relations and Diplomatic Studies, Makerere University.
Some of his publications include;
· Ogwang, T., Vanclay, F., & van den Assem, A. (2018). Impacts of the oil boom on the lives of people living in the Albertine Graben region of Uganda. The Extractive Industries and Society.
· Ogwang, T. (2018). Private Security Organizations in Uganda: At Home and Away, edited by Kennedy Mkutu Agade in Security Governance in East Africa: Pictures of Policing from the Ground, Lexington Books.
· Ogwang.T. (2018). Understanding People’s Perceptions and Expectations about Oil discoveries in Northern Uganda (work in progress).
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