Strengthening Governance and Accountability at the Local Level: Governance, Accountability, Participation and Performance (GAPP)

The goal of the GAPP activity is to achieve more equitable, efficient, and effective service delivery. The initiative is built on the lessons learned and momentum gained from previous activities, including the Strengthening Democratic LINKAGES activity in Uganda (June 2007-September 2011) and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) funded Uganda Country Threshold Anti-corruption Program (ACT) (2008-2009). The GAPP activity will focus on enhancing the enabling environment for improved service delivery, particularly in the health, education, and economic growth sectors. The development hypothesis for GAPP is that if local government systems are strengthened and non-government led efforts are supported to improve accountability and democratic governance, service delivery will be more equitable, effective, and efficient. To achieve this goal, the GAPP activity will enhance the legal, policy, regulatory, and institutional environment to meet demands for more democratic governance, increase the capacity of citizens and communities to participate in local governance, and improve the capacity of local government officers to embrace transparency and accountability. The GAPP activity will focus on two main components: National level Processes and Local Government Processes. At the national level, the initiative will focus on Parliament's oversight role over government business, strengthening the audit and procurement processes of the Office of the Auditor General (OAGi) and the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDAii), and supporting collaborative activities across the major accountability institutions and local institutions. At the local level, the initiative will focus on improving the fiscal functions of local governments, including budget preparation, budget allocation, expenditure, planning, procurement, and revenue generation. The GAPP activity will also support local governments to become more accountable to the citizenry by maintaining better systems and improving their fiscal functions. The GAPP activity will address four key governance indicators: Performance/Institutional Strengthening, Legitimacy and Voice, Accountability, and Fairness. The initiative will also leverage other USAID programs, such as NUDIEL, NUMAT II, SAFE, LEAD, and SDS, to ensure collaboration, learning, and adaptation. The GAPP activity will achieve the following outcomes: Enhanced policy environment and regulatory systems, Increased engagement between local and national level accountability processes, and Improved internal capacity and collaboration among accountability institutions. The initiative will also support participatory policy audits between Members of Parliament (MPs), Local Governments (LGs), Civil Society Organizations (CSOs)/Non-State Actors (NSAs), and communities of government policies/interventions to ensure enforcement and responsiveness. The GAPP activity will focus on identified local governments and communities, supporting them to improve their fiscal functions and become more accountable to the citizenry. Improvements in these processes will contribute to and link with national and district accountability structures, including the Public Accounts Committees in parliament and at the district, the office of the Auditor General, and the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority.