Andrew Matsiko
Projekt
Title of the Ph.D. Thesis
“LOCAL TAXES AND ICTs IN UGANDA. GOOD GOVERNANCE BY PARTICIPATION AND TRANSPARENCY?”As result of deteriorating norms of good governance, citizens are exploring new information communication technologies (ICTs) such as the internet to express their dissatisfaction and demand accountability, transparency from the government. In fact, electronic platforms are initiated to exchange information, interact and monitor governments and actions of leaders. Here publics interact to deliberate and participate in political and socio-economic concerns in a collective manner. Unlike conventional form of governance, electronic participation significantly neutralises the dominance, egoism of elites in political and socio economic decision-making.
The same is slowly emerging in the global South. In east Africa, the leapfrog of internet is being felt in Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya. There is high subscription of mobiles phones and services, which citizens utilise to interact and inform others on the progress and actions of the governments and connect to the world. Similarly, communities and civic movements combine both electronic and conventional forms of participation to monitor and engage the government to demand for local financial transparency and inclusive governments.
However, electronic governance in Uganda lags very behind. It explores ICT only for information dissemination but not to enable participation of citizens in governance discourses while digital divide makes e-participation further very difficult. Despite, there is a high adoption of electronic and mobile telephone and mobile phone banking services to assess local revenues, registration and payment and issuance of licences. Internet and mobile phone services are utilised by citizens to report fraud and local revenue manipulation in local government systems.
This study focuses on local taxes and ICTs impact on elements of good governance i.e. transparency, accountability and participation. It envisages how ICTs can foster citizen participation in the implementation of local taxes and transparency and strengthen the relations between the State and citizens. Here the nexus between e-participation and local taxes responsiveness is central. Triangulation research design and mixed methods of qualitative and quantitative guide this study. Quantitative data is collected through a survey questionnaire and SPSS packages are for analysis. Qualitative data is collected through interviews and focus group discussions and further transcribed to complement quantitative data.References
- Hague, N, B/ Loader, B, D. eds. (1999), Digital Democracy: Discourse and Decision making in the information Age, London: Routledge
- Kersting, N. (2013), “Online participation: from “invited” to “invented” spaces, Int. J. Electronic Governance, vol. 6, No 4, pp.270-280
- Kersting, N. ed. (2012), Electronic Democracy, Barbara Budrich publishers, Opladen, Germany
- Kersting, N. et.al. (2009), Local government reforms in global perspective, Wiesbaden: VS Verlag
- Kersting, N. (2009): Local government reforms and fiscal policies in a global perspective. in: EROPA Local Government Center (ed.) 2009: Local Governance under Stress: Fiscal Retrenchment and Expanding Public Demands on Government. Tokyo: EROPA)
- Livingston, S, Walter-Drop, G. eds. (2014), Bits and Atoms: Information and communication technology in Areas of limited statehood, Oxford University press
- Nabatchi, T. et-al. eds. (2012), Democracy in motion: Evaluating the practice and impact of deliberative civic engagement, Oxford University press
Forschungsgruppe
Die Betreuung erfolgt durch Prof. Dr. Norbert Kersting im Rahmen der Forschungsgruppe Urban and Regional Innovation.
Werdegang
2016 Member of Graduate school of politics (GRASP), Münster, Germany 2015 PhD. studies at Muenster University, Germany, with Dissertation-title: „Local Taxes and ICT in Uganda. Good Governance by participation and transparency?“, scholarship awarded by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) 2013-2015 Assistant lecturer, Development studies, School of social sciences, Bugema SDA University, Kampala, Uganda 2013-2014 Head of research and Innovations, Uganda civil society incubators (UCSI), Ltd, Kampala, Uganda 2013 Participated in research and expert training on “Water Use Conflicts – Integrated Watershed Management for the sustainable utilisation of natural resources for conservation, agriculture and tourism” in Kenya) 2010-2012 Master of Arts degree, Osnabrück University of applied sciences, Germany, awarded a scholarship by Deutsch Akademischer Austausch Dienst (DAAD) 2012 Carried out Masters research on „participation of local community in Development cooperation programmes in post conflict. A comparative study of GIZ, DFID and JICA. A case study of northern Uganda“ 2011 Participated in research on „Le numero vert“ als Ansatz zur Korruptionsbekämpfung im Niger: Ein Ausweg aus Bad governance im Niger?(in English: „Le numero vert“ as an approach to fight corruption in Niger: a way from bad governance in Niger? 2008/9 Participated in research on Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC), and social demographics surveys (UNDHS) at Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), Kampala, Uganda 2008-2010 Field data operator, Uganda Bureau of statistics (UBOS), Kampala, Uganda 2003-2006 Bachelor of Arts degree, Makerere University (MAK), Kampala, Uganda Publikationen
Publications
1. Matsiko, A. (2013), The local Community Participation and Development Aid programmes: Do the poor suggest priority ideas in project cycles of development cooperation programmes?, Akademiker Verlag
Weiteres
Forschungsinteresse
1. Local and Regional Governance
2. Local fiscal policies and Decentralisation
3. Electronic Democracy and participatory Governance
3. Political Ideologies and Political behaviour