BMAU Bulletin

T he Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit (BMAU) was established in July 2008. It is a government funded unit within the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (MFPED) that seeks to improve accountability and en-sure efficiency in public expendi-ture through monitoring and evalu-ating budget implementation in selected government programs/projects. The unit evaluates the extent to which the budgets and resultant interventions are aligned with sec-tor objectives. It is focusing on Ag-riculture, Education, Energy, Health, Industry, Information and Communications Technology, Mi-crofinance, Roads. Public Sector Management, and Water and Envi-ronment. The Budget Directorate at the Ministry of Finance uses the information collected to engage with spending agencies on per-formance issues with a view to im-prove programme implementation. The BMAU reports are distributed to Members of Parliament; central and local Government agencies; development partners, civil society organizations, and the private sec-

tor The work of BMAU comple-ments other government agencies, such as the Auditor General, the Accountant General, Office of the Prime Minister and the Inspector General of Government. The role of this Unit has since evolved to include research into specific issues affecting poor budget performance. The research is usually commissioned by other government departments and agen-cies and serves as a basis for mak-ing policy recommendations. Some of the studies carried out so far include: Non-compliance in public financial management; the state of primary schools; spending constraints in local governments; the adequacy and impact of financ-ing the food security budget through the National Agricultural Advisory Services; and An Evalua-tion of the Rural Financial Services Programme and the Uganda Coop-erative Savings and Credit Union.

About the Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit (BMAU)

Issue 1: August 2014

W elcome to the maiden issue of the BMAU Bulletin. As one of our ma-jor stakeholders, sharing with you the BMAU activi-ties is of profound interest to us. In this issue, we in-troduce to you BMAU and the activities carried out in the last few months. We look forward to sharing more exciting news from the unit. Enjoy your read-ing!!

Inside this Issue: BMAU improves effi-

ciency within the finance ministry

Profile of Head BMAU BMAU completes ERT

Monitoring Survey BMAU staff members Communication Strat-

egy Staff training on com-

munication Upcoming Outputs/

Events Pictorial of field experi-

ences

Editorial Team Mrs. Margaret Kakande Maria R. Muzaaki Sylvia Atuhaire

Core values Integrity Transparency Timeliness Accountability Professionalism

BMAU Bulletin

Profile of Mrs. Margaret Kakande Head BMAU

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M rs. Margaret Kakande is the Head, Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit (BMAU) under the Ministry of Fi-nance, Planning and Economic Devel-opment (MFPED). At BMAU, she en-sures production of regular budget per-formance reports and the use of the findings for policy decision making at various levels of government, contrib-utes to capacity building efforts for monitoring and evaluation among various government officials, Commis-sions and supervises research on issues of implementation of public pro-grammes. She coordinates the Energy for Rural Transformation (ERT) projects moni-toring and evaluation component, un-der the Ministry of Energy and Min-eral development. In addition, she is at the helm of the finance ministrys component of a 5-year programme on Gender Equality. Mrs. Kakande has lectured at Maker-ere University and served the govern-ment as a Social Infrastructure Econo-mist, Social Policy Advisor attached to the Programme for Poverty Alleviation and Social Costs of Adjustment. From 1996 to June 2008, she headed the Poverty Monitoring and Analysis Unit (MFPED). She is also the President of the Uganda Evaluation Association (UEA) which seeks to promote the practice, use, quality and ethics of Monitoring & Evaluation in Ugandas develop-

ment process.

M rs. Kakande holds a Masters in De-velopment Eco-nomics (University of East Anglia, UK), a Bachelor of Statistics (Makerere Univer-sity), a Post Graduate Di-ploma in Feminist Develop-ment Economics (Institute of Social Studies, The Nether-lands); and certificates in Strategic Communication; Monitoring and Evaluation of Development Interven-tions; Participatory research methods; Gender Main-streaming; Manpower plan-ning; Development Statistics; and Statistics in Poverty poli-cies.

She has presented numerous papers on various develop-ment issues at international and local conferences/seminars and conducted sev-eral consultancies for public and private institutions. She is a member of the Council for Economic Em-powerment of women (CEEWA) Uganda Chap-ter, the Monitoring and Evaluation Committee and the Monitoring and Over-sight sub-committee of Gov-ernment both under Office of the Prime Minister, Mem-ber of Board of Directors for Development Research and Training (DRT) among oth-ers.

Mrs. Margaret Kakande

BMAU Bulletin

M rs. Margaret Kakande has

been at the helm of the Budget Monitoring and

Accountability Unit since its

inception in 2008. Below, she shares the achievements of

the Unit.

Briefly take us through your role at BMAU.

I coordinate all activities for the technical monitoring, and monitoring officers, provide guidance and backstopping support, communicate feed-back to the ministry manage-ment about the monitoring findings and represent BMAU at various fora.

How does BMAU work sup-port the wider mandate of the finance ministry?

Two of the ministrys man-dates are to mobilize local and external financial resources for public expenditure; and regulate financial manage-ment and ensure efficiency in public expenditure. The BMAU helps the ministry as-sess the extent to which se-lected government ministries, departments and agencies use funds in line with their re-

spective work-plans. It also helps assess whether there is value for money in the imple-mentation of government pro-grammes and projects. The Unit is one of the ministrys accountability foras. Findings from BMAU monitoring ac-tivities inform government in terms of appropriate alloca-tions of funds to different sectors.

Share with us some of the achieve-ments of BMAU.

T hese are many but I will just mention a few. Our first report released in 2009 was awake up call as it made public officials real-ize that someone within government can actually verify actual output in re-lation to money re-leased and spent. Thereafter, this has helped instill discipline in some officials, and influ-enced some institutions to change the way public funds are being used.

Our work has helped improve efficiency within the finance ministry. For instance, the staff are more careful and ana-lytical when reading and pass-ing progress reports from Ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) because they know that BMAU will also analyse them.

Our findings help inform de-cision making. We have en-gaged in research which has

helped inform some of the current public finance re-forms. For ex-ample our re-search on Non-Compliance in Public Fi-nancial Man-agement showed spend-ing constraints highlighting the bottle-necks to move-ment of money within the system.

This knowledge has been very instrumental in reforms being implemented now for exam-ple the decentralization of the payroll and crea-

BMAU work has improved efficiency within the finance ministry

BMAU Bulletin

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The Units first report

tion of the single treasury ac-count.

On the other hand, the study of the state of primary schools looked at the status of educa-tion, reviewed the actual pu-pils and teachers in schools. This report was an eye opener to the presence of ghost schools, teachers and pupils thus illustrating a need for reforms in this sector.

What are the causes of the continued poor service deliv-ery despite the numerous monitoring efforts con-ducted by both government agencies and CSOs?

T he major challenges are two; poorly paid human resource and weak institutions. The human resource is central to the im-plementation of service deliv-ery programmes but it is taken for granted. You can-not expect a poorly paid and de-motivated worker to effi-ciently and effectively deliver services.

In addition, most institutions are weak and there is limited supervision being done. For the few that conduct apprais-als, these mainly remain on paper. There are so many re-

forms being implemented in government but who is evalu-ating their enforcement? Cur-rently, accounting officers sign performance contracts, but this has become a mere ritual and is not being used to improve performance.

W hat are some of the challenges your unit has experienced?

In the past, the staff have faced hostility while collecting monitoring data. Some peo-ple do not want to release in-formation, wondering why we want it. Other people think that all people from the fi-nance ministry are thieves, so they have not been forthcom-ing in terms of releasing fi-nancial information. For in-stance, monitoring teams visit schools and the head teachers run away, leaving their depu-ties or other staff to respond to the queries. However in some instances these staff members might not provide accurate information.

We also cover a limited scope in terms of sectors compared to the big demands for moni-toring data. Even within these sectors, since we have to con-duct an in-depth analysis, we

are unable to cover a sector 100%. We sample a few pro-grammes and projects, usually for 17 to 25 districts out of the 112 for a given sector dur-ing any monitoring exercise.. With the limited manpower, we cannot meet the demands placed on the unit.

The skills capacity of the staff has been limited in terms of monitoring and evaluation. The staff we hire are thematic experts but not experienced monitoring and evaluation experts. We have had to train them in M&E and effective communication. Unfortu-nately after training, some of them get other jobs.

H ow have you over-come these chal-lenges? There are some things we can-not change and some we are trying to live with. Transpar-ency from the finance minis-try will help improve the apa-thy shown towards its staff in the field.

We are also in the process of expanding some of the moni-toring teams. For example the roads monitoring team has now increased to four from two.

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We have introduced the monitoring for Public Sector Management (PSM) to focus on critical institutions like the public service, Public Service Commis-sion and the Ministry of East African Affairs, among others. But initially, the PSM team will focus on the payroll is-sues.

Kindly share with us, the units strate-gic areas of focus for the next three years

Government decides our areas of focus. They asked us to expand the monitor-ing of roads and we have. In the future, we might also expand the team moni-toring agriculture and perhaps look into the Justice Law and Order Sector.

What impact will the Units work have on improving service delivery?

If our reports are used to improve use of funds and we get value for money, there should be an improvement in ser-vice delivery. For example when we had just started monitoring, the operations of the National Medical Stores were not well streamlined. We prepared a paper on drug procurement, and government changed the way drugs were being pro-cured. This has improved distribution of drugs leading to a reduction in stock-outs. What is your philosophy in life? I believe in teamwork! Team work and networking will help you achieve a lot in life. Exploiting the comparative ad-vantages of the different officers deliv-ers effectively.

BMAU completes ERT Monitoring Survey

T he Energy for Ru-ral Transformation (ERT) Program is a World Bank/Government of Uganda project, exe-cuted by the Ministry of Energy as the lead agency for rural energy and the Uganda Communications Commission as the lead agency for Rural Informa-tion and Communication Technologies (ICTs). The program is aimed at en-hancing the access, use and value of renewable sources of energy in appli-cations that provide or strengthen livelihood, and enhance the quality of life in rural areas of Uganda. The Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, through BMAU conducts regular monitoring and evaluation activities to assess whether implementation is on track as per the work plans. For Quarter 4 of financial year 2013/14, the survey was limited to two compo-nents; enterprises and health institutions. The survey covered 120 ERT supported and 80 un-supported health centers, as well as 170 enterprises in intervention districts

and 80 enterprises in non- treated districts. The health centres were randomly selected from: i. Western Region: Ka-

bale, Kanungu, Ru-kungiri, and Ntungamo

ii. Central: Mubende, Lu-weero, Mityana, Na-kaseke, Kayunga, Mukono and Kyegegwa

iii. Acholi Region: Adju-mani, Apak, Kitgum and Lamwo

iv. Karamoja Region: Amudat, Napak, Na-kapiripirit, Moroto

v. Eastern Region: Do-kolo, Kaberamaido, Kumi, Tororo, Kaliro

O n the other hand, for the en-terprises the sam-ple which represented the supported group was se-lected from Adjumani, Do-kolo, Kaberamaido, Lamwo, Nakapiripirit and Rukungiri districts. The unsupported group was selected from Bugiri, Busia, Kayunga and Mukono districts. The research teams have finalized data analysis and have a draft report.

BMAU Bulletin

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Name Margaret Kakande Rosetti Nabbumba Nayenga Allan Gitta Annet Nansubuga Hamdhan Semanda Daniel Sekitto Roberts Ssekamanya Robert Ssempebwa John Musaazi Benon Semakula Medi Wakabi Nicholas Magezi Jones Hadali Beatrice Aber Jesca Nakabiri Andrew Elasu

Position Head BMAU Deputy Head BMAU/TMO Agriculture Finance Manager Administrator Senior Driver Driver Driver Driver Driver Driver Driver Driver Driver Office Attendant Office Attendant Office Attendant

The team behind BMAU

Technical team Charles Nsubuga Matthew Lubuulwa Alice Ninsiima Angella Basaasira Ssali Ibrahim Lubwama Francis Mulolo Annette K. Mutoni Oleng Margaret Birungi Ntorantyo Justus Kalebbo Maria Roselynn Muzaaki Sylvia Atuhaire Arinaitwe Isaac Senyonjo Kefa Kawanguzi Mariam Nakakande Noeline Gwokyalya Esther Najjuma Winnie Gertrude Adite Valerian Muyise Silver Kato Sandra Mbabazi Irene Achiro

Technical Monitoring Officer (TMO) -Education TMO -ICT/Industrialisation TMO -Water, Environment and Sanitation TMO -Energy TMO -Roads TMO -Roads TMO -Health TMO -Public Sector Management (PSM) TMO -Public Finance Communication OfficerDANIDA support to BMAU DANIDA Support to BMAU Monitoring Officer (MO) Agriculture MO-Health MO-Public Finance MO- Education MO-Roads MO-Roads MO-ICT/Industrialisation MO- Energy MO- PSM MO- Water, Environment and Sanitation

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Administration

E ffective communica-tion is an integral component to achiev-ing an organisations goals. In order to meet the commu-nication needs of its diverse stakeholders, the Budget Monitoring and Accountabil-ity Unit (BMAU) has formu-lated a communication strat-egy which outlines how the unit will appropriately com-municate its activities over the next three years. The strategy seeks to create awareness about the budget monitoring and accountabil-ity function of MFPED,

popularize existing BMAU apex products and develop a range of new products, ease accessibility to and usage of BMAU products and en-hance the capacity of BMAU to implement its communica-tion function. We hope that everyone will not only be kept informed about BMAUs key products, but also know how to share your feedback with us. We recognize the ever chang-ing environment in which we work, thus there is room for flexibility within the strategy. We shall embrace the use of

new media in our communi-cation, without necessarily compromising the power of the traditional media.

BMAU gets a communication strategy

BMAU Bulletin

BMAU staff trained on communication

S taff members of the Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit (BMAU) recently par-ticipated in a two day train-ing on effective communica-tion. The training, held at Fairway Hotel from 17th to 18th June 2014 was part of BMAUs on-job capacity development ac-

tivities for staff. The highly interactive ses-sions saw staff acquire skills in public speaking, presenta-tions, web 2.0 tools for com-munication, etiquette in the corporate sector, sound bites in writing to mention but a few. The trainees said the skills

acquired would be used in their upcoming outputs espe-cially in the writing and edit-ing skills. They added that they intend to prepare more before they give speeches or presentations i.e., improve the communication skills, and practice public speaking. It was a training worth at-tending.

Maria Roselynn Muzaaki BMAU Communication Officer

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Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit

@BudgetMonitorUg

BMAU Bulletin

I n her closing remarks, Margaret Kakande, the head BMAU appreciated the trainers for the job well done and called on the staff to immediately adopt and use the new skills acquired. I as-sure you that after this train-ing, the way things are done in BMAU has got to change. We need to immediately put into practice what we have learnt to enable us produce better products, she added. The staff appealed for a longer practical session in photography such that each participant is given handson

training on how to use cam-eras to capture images that

communicate messages inline with their findings.

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Upcoming Outputs/Events

ERT Monitoring report for Q4-FY

2013/14 September 2014 Annual Monitoring Report Octo-

ber 2014 Sector SummariesOctober 2014 Budget Monitoring Day Novem-

ber 2014 Dissemination workshops for Gov-

ernment, Development Partners,, Members of Parliament, CSOs and other stakeholders November 2014

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Get in touch with BMAU

Email: [email protected] Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Devel-opment Third Floor, Room 3.13 Tel: +256 414 707201/250 Plot 2-12 Apollo Kaggwa Road P.O.Box 8147, Kampala, Uganda Website: www.finance.go.ug

BMAUs Ibrahim Lubwama and Charles Nsubuga listening to the trainer

T his year, BMAU has so far pub-lished 14 Policy Briefs and these are available on the finance ministry website, (www.finance.go.ug) under the BMAU page. Below are the titles of the briefs. BMAU BP1/14:

Persistent Imple-mentation chal-lenges in different sectors

BMAU BP2/14: Ag-ricultural Sector Performance: Are set targets for public spending and ser-vice provision being met?

BMAU BP3/14: Are feasibility stud-ies guiding the in-dustrialisation proc-ess?

BMAU BP4/14: Im-plementation of the grid extension pro-jects to increase ru-ral electrification: What are the key constraints?

BMAU BP5/14- Rain water harvesting; a possible solution to water shortage

BMAU BP6/14: Which systems will fos-ter sustainable access to energy in Uganda: Grid or solar?

BMAU BP7/14: National roads mainte-nance programme: What are the chal-lenges in maintaining paved roads?

BMAU BP8/14: Distribution of agricul-tural inputs in Uganda: What are the key challenges?

BMAU BP9/14: Rehabilitation of Re-gional Referral hospitals in Uganda: What should be done differ-ently? BMAU BP10/14: Mi-cro-finance Centres pro-vision of institutional loans: Why is uptake de-clining? BMAU BP11/14: Al-locations and expendi-tures on non-core activi-ties: What is the general trend especially in the education sector? BMAU BP12/14: Re-ducing maternal mortal-ity in Uganda: What are the key constraints? BMAU BP13/14: Ac-cess to safe water for all: Can Uganda achieve

this? BMAU BP14/14:Causes for the persis-

tent implementation of unplanned out-puts in the education sector develop-ment projects

The 2014 Policy Briefs are out!!!

Some of the policy briefs released this year

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What happens behind the scenes Mr. Charles Nsubuga, TMO Education shares with us some pictures of what it takes to gather information in the field.

BMAU team crossing one of the make-shift bridges in Kasese district

A flooded river between Otuke and Lira. Vehicles were being pushed across at a fee after removing the air cleaners and

covering other engine parts. Below: Cars stuck on one of the roads in Pader district, the BMAU driver (with a hoe) tried

to create a passage for their vehicle